We Are The Prey
by RuthlessGravity
Summary: Set during the Great Jedi Purge, Ahsoka is on the run from the Empire. Recently, Ahsoka has been forced into slavery and is used in gladiatoral fights. With hope on her side, she must stay alive to find freedom. M: Mild Language/Violence/Sexual Content
1. Deference For the Prey

_Star Wars _and characters do not belong to me.

Author's Notes: Kinda of a long first chapter, but hopefully it will set the tone for the rest of the story.

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><p>Set several years into the <em>Great Jedi Purge, <em>Ahsoka who is now a wanted Jedi sets out to find other survivor's of the purge. However, an obstacle stands between her and freedom on the planet Ruuria. A former ally during the Clone Wars, Ahsoka is being hunted down like a animal. A traitor to the Galactic Republic. Pressed against a wall with no choices, Ahsoka makes a decision to either escape or take a stand.

In this chapter, Ahsoka is on the run and finally faces the past that has culminated into this point in time.

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><p><strong>Chapter 1 — <strong>_Deference For the Prey_

A crackle of thunder echoed through the thick hot air, flashes of purple scattering across the forest floor as the trees give cover from the rain. The soft ground gave way to the pressures of feet that ran through it as fauna escaped from the approaching figure of the night. Heavy droplets fall from the widen leaves of the jungle, each droplet making a splash bigger than the previous one before it. Heaves of air escape through the warm nostrils of the female, her hands appearing then instantly at the same time disappearing in front of her. The cool orange glow of her skin danced with the dark green palette of the forest, her speed was meet with the adrenaline that was coursing through her very heart.

Her eyes darted around her surroundings, hoping to catch a glimpse of a path to escape to. Vaulting over a fallen tree, the woman then slipped behind cover of vines that hanged like lifeless limbs only to push herself up against the trunk of a tree. Both hands grasped against the bark, nails digging in as she tried to slow her breathing down. Both blue-rimmed eyes pushed to their respective corners of the right side, itching to see if they were coming or not. However, her mind refused to give away her position. Not yet, anyways, with one hand sliding against the leggings of her waist, she reached against the cold metallic frame of her light saber. Now it was her turn to be the predator instead of the prey.

Shouts and commands were ordered as men in white plated armor scattered through the forest like phantoms of the night. Their visors blackened out, revealing nothing about their souls. Their rifles armed and at the ready, gripped by their hands and fingers snaking through the loop of the trigger guard. They were hunters, predators of an Empire that sought no resolution or mercy with people like her. People like Ahsoka Tano.

She gripped her light saber tightly this time, fingers wrapping around the base while the thumb pressed ever so lightly on the trigger; her mind set regulating itself to be prepared to make the decisive move. She felt through the force to get an estimate of how many of them were here, but it was difficult with the adrenaline coursing through her veins. Her heart racing at an impressive rate. Breathing in slowly, Ahsoka tried to bring herself to minimal train of thought as she focused on a singular entity that walked through the forest.

She could see it, the steps that they took, but all of them were not walking in coordination. They were not the clones of yesteryear, but men hired to take orders. Orders that were from a far superior being than themselves. As she trained her focus on these men, she could feel a familiar being that was close to these men. The patterns of his armor were different, red stripes that lamented on his shoulder plates. She could feel something about this one, something warm. The curious thought walked amongst the roots that riddled the ground, finding the empty shell that she had long tossed away. Who was he? The question to itself spurred interest in the woman, but the idea of actually meeting this person was honestly not on her to-do list.

The parched throat that encapsulated Ahsoka only shortened as the vision of memories flooded her mind. Isolated beads of sweat seeped out from the pores of her skin when a flash of images moved passed other memories. Familiar voices with their familiar accents welcomed Ahsoka into a different realm, a different war. A different era.

— — —

"You heard the lady! Let's move out!" Commander Razor threw his arm out into the direction of the village, pinpointing one of the many Separatists leaders who had taken up hiding within a civilian populated area. It was a tactic that proved neither brave or worthy of one who was seeing the war's end. Ahsoka herself recently became a Jedi Knight, her Knighting ceremony was actually just last week where Jedi Master Yoda performing the knighting on the young girl who was now becoming a woman in her own right as well as a Knight within the Jedi Order. She was proud of herself, but the one person who was even prouder for her was Anakin.

He didn't show it really, just a simple sly smirk and a nod was enough to speak volumes. In addition, her first orders were to investigate a moon that harbored a Separatist. Reports stated that he was on the run from the Republic on the planet Unistros. The neighboring body of planet to Utapau. She heard that the Republic Navy were going to arrive in the system within two hours. They only had so much time to find this man and place him under arrest before the Separatist manage to know what was going on and formulate a counter-attack.

The troopers within the platoon were already splitting up, searching each dirt-built building while the people of Unistros who were simply colonists from Utapau had the signs of fear written within their faces. Unsure if the war that forced them to become isolated with the rest of the galaxy has finally arrived. Ahsoka herself worried for these people, especially now that a Separatist leader was somewhere in this village. Hiding and bidding his time to escape or hurt someone here.

"Nothing here!" One of the troopers shouted, their faces obscured by the helmets they wore. Ahsoka was just getting to know them, and even now she didn't entirely know this gentleman's name with the exception of his boring designated name that the Kaminoan's labeled him as. "Keep searching," She ordered with her softer voice. Her eyes scanned the village as she and Commander Razor - a veteran of Geonosis - walked side-by-side.

Several more men came up from the rear as they came rushing passed them. Ahsoka could sense this man was here, but where? Looking up to the canyon walls, she could see the sky turning into a golden blue haze of morning. They were running out of time. "If we do not find him, I'm afraid we'll lose him forever." She mused to herself, a hand reaching to rub against her cold cheek. The night fare of arriving here was vastly cold than what was stated in the databanks.

Temperatures faired around twenty degree's below at night and ninety degree's choking hot. This planet wasn't a comfortable place to be but the people here had made a living here.

Razor nodded in agreement with the General, understanding that this man was different from the rest of the leaders within the Separatist party. He was the man who was known as the Reaper of Kowloon. A pathologist on the surface, he use to be a doctor who healed the sick. When the war began, it seemed that Dooku had other uses for him. The only thing that could drive a man to do twisted evil things was greed. Born an orphan on a slum world, he took the chance to become something that he wasn't meant to be.

Now he wanted for war crimes, and the Republic was after him like a rapid fanged animal with the scent of blood in the air.

"Ma'am, we found him." A trooper with blue markings striping down his helmet. Ahsoka looked, not saying anything as she waited for him to show her. "This way." Soon both Commander Razor and Ahsoka were off running alongside the trooper until they came upon a temple. The pyramid like structure was built with red and cyan colors, with a set of stairs that elevated into the entrance of the temple. The trooper marched up the stairs with the rifle in arms. Two other troopers situated themselves outside the entrance, guarding the area while the Jedi General and Commander Razor walked up the steps.

A medic and an trooper in plain white armor stood over a body lying on the ground. The one trooper leading them into the area lowered his weapon as he looked down upon the body, then to Ahsoka. "Ma'am, this may be gruesome to see. Just a warning."

Ahsoka nodded politely to the soldier as she came upon the sight of the man. The medic who stood over him was scanning the man's face for recognition, then lifting his head to see Ahsoka with her arm's crossed over her chest. "Is it him?"

"Yes." He murmured, then standing to his feet to give Ahsoka some space of the view.

The man lied across the floor, blood trickling from his wrists and pooling at the side of his ribcage. Above him was a statue of the Goddess that the Pau'ans worshipped.

"Sonofa—" One of the soldiers blurted out as he came jogging into the temple and stumbling upon the gruesome sight. Ahsoka knelt down, her eyes dancing rigidly to the man's appearance. He adorned some of same fashion that the folks here had, hoping to blend in and not be seen by the Republic or the Pau'ans.

"He guessed that the war was coming to an end, and he knew his time was up." Razor said as he knelt down beside Ahsoka, a pen-like device stretching forth from his pocket to lift an arm.

"What a cowardly way to die. Should've done it a long time ago." The trooper who came in lagging behind them two, whispering empathetically. "Copy that." The medic quipped in his own two cents while watching Ahsoka study this piece of meat.

"Just died recently, probably right when we got here." Ashoka added in as she stood back up, then looking at the goddess in front of her. "Though he had just enough time to draw a picture for us."

The medic nodded as he lifted his eyes to the same statue that everyone was looking at now. The Separatist symbol.

"To the end." Razor commented as he turned back and switched on the commlink of his wrist. "This is Commander Razor, target is KIA, suicide."

Ahsoka on the other end wasn't too happy about this. She was given strict orders to capture him alive. But here he was, lying in his own pool of blood with a middle finger metaphorically drawn on the Pau'ans goddess.

"Ma'am?" The medic motioned for him and his team to begin collecting the body for transport, which Ahsoka granted with a simple nod.

Suddenly, desperate shouts were being heard out from the entrance, earning Ahsoka's attention as she craned her head just enough for one eye to catch a glimpse of the Pau'an.

"Ma'am, we can't let you in." The guard grunted as he held the woman back from entering with the butt of the rifle. "Damnit, we need a translator." The other groaned as he too held her back. Commander Razor paced over to them as he looked at the woman. Panic in her eyes. He lifted a hand with a palm open horizontally, hoping to tell her that she isn't allowed in her temple. A strange way to tell someone who was religious not to be going in their own temple of worship, but this place officially became territory for the Republic.

"Ma'am, we cannot let you in this temple. It is for your own safety." Still, she shouted and threw her arms not into the direction of the temple but down the path of the valley.

Ahsoka reared from behind Commander Razor as she looked up to meet the clone's face. "What's going on here?" She asked, the Commander simply shrugging as he offered in the details that it was simply a woman who probably wanted to see the sight of a dead man.

Ahsoka then looked to the woman who wasn't as interested to see this guy as it was her pointing to a direction. Her shouts and the dismay on her face was probably mistranslated as something else but she was getting this strange twist of the knots in her gut.

"I don't think she wants inside." Ahsoka said as she pushed her way between the two guarding the temple. "What's the problem?" Ahsoka asked, knowing she probably didn't understand but reading one's expressions was enough to translate the question to her language. The woman then spoke in her native tongue, her finger pointing into the direction in which there were several more buildings, all but abandoned with the Clones arrived.

"Commander." The Jedi voiced for Razor's attention. "Yes ma'am?"

"Did the medic identify the man as Ar Starkweather?"

The medic was just now coming out from the temple, a body bag in tow who was carried by two other troopers overheard her question; insisting to nudge in his own personal answer.

"I did, DNA proved that he was the real Ar Starkweather."

"Open the bag up," She walked over to the body bag as the two troopers looked to each other, with the expression that was sure known among other clones as - is she out of her mind?

The medic on the other hand didn't want that happen, especially in front of the woman.

"Open it." She insisted again. The two troopers lowered the body on the precipice of the stairs, then opening the bag to reveal the pale skin white face of the man. Ahsoka immediately shot her hand against the zipper, opening it wider this time before stopping at his waist. She then ran her fingers across the corpses face, hoping to find something out of the ordinary.

Sure enough, she could feel some bony imprint against the underlying jaw. Where for a human, the jaw didn't connect to the trachea. This one did.

The medic leaned in, wondering what exactly was going on while Ahsoka was feeling this dead man's body. Some of the troopers were worried that their general went off the deep end. None of the men here never had much experience with being around Ahsoka, vice-versa with Ahsoka as well as her techniques were of her own - at least to some extent.

"What is it ma'am?" One of the trooper's asked, finding this all too odd.

"It's not him." She lifted herself up and looked off into the direction that the woman had pointed earlier.

"Huh?"

"What do you mean it's not him?" Razor asked much more quietly this time.

"It's a medical corpse. Design to be used for teaching purposes. Biologically engineered to the specifications that the instructor wants it. Obviously he managed to get one to his liking. But didn't have enough time or credits to actually fool anyone that it was him. The structure of the bones reminiscent of a near-human species."

"We were had." The medic defeating said as he looked down to the corpse inside the black bag.

"There isn't enough time, we need to go and get after him before it's too late." Ashoka immediately waved at her troopers to follow.

On the main dirt road, two troopers in speeder bikes soared up to the small squad that gathered around Ahsoka. "This is all we can get for you ma'am. But it will do." One of the rider's commented before lifting a leg up and over the speeder's frame. "Razor, on me." Ahsoka ran over to her speeder, hopping on it and waited for the Commander to get to his.

"The rest of you, wait here until we come back with him. If we do not come back in less than an hour, do not report anything." A few confused looks were exchanged among the squad of soldiers. Unsure what kind of tactic this was as they nodded none the less.

It wasn't a Jedi thing to do, but she knew it was their best chance of finding this man and bringing him to justice. That much she learned from Anakin.

Before long, both speeders flew off against the horizon; ultimately leaving the village and riding against the coast of the ocean. The sun was rising off to the distances where the clouds swam in the ocean of orange haze. Time was running out. It wouldn't take long before Utapau was under siege by the Republic Army. Obi-wan who was leading the raid was going after General Grievous. Ahsoka had a duty to capture Ar alive.

"We're coming upon a lake, I have readings of Ion engines beginning their routine start up." Commander Razor spoke through his secured channels through his speeder bike. Ahsoka looked over with the dust picking up lightly through the morning haze. She nodded to him then murmured to herself about it being Ar.

They were coming upon a small rolling hill with thickly heavy tree's growing out from the ground and webbing against the sky, the perfect place to hide such a starship from public view. They knew what to do, and immediately slowed their speeders before stopping by one of the many tree's that surrounded the lake. Razor took lead, his rifle brandished and at the ready. Ahsoka herself removed both of her light sabers from her hilt, fingers relaxing around their respective grips as they closed in on their target.

Just near the lake, the man that they were after was beginning to burn evidence that he had brought with him. His beady eyes scanned the tree line for a mere moment before returning his attention back on the burning pyre of evidence. The black billowing smoke that came from the fire rose endlessly into the brown-blue sky, figuring that he was this far - no one was going to notice.

Razor motioned that he was going to take the left flank while Ahsoka nodded, moving to the right in an effort to trap their target from escaping elsewhere. The warming of the engines on Ar's small starship was nearing the end of it's startup cycle. Commander Razor leveled his rifle with the man's head as he fiddled around with data pads and memory chips. He was going to allow General Ahsoka to capture this fool while he wasn't looking.

Meanwhile, Ahsoka knelt beside a small bush that was just enough to blanket her face from view. Her eyes shifting between Ar and the fire. The smoke was becoming thick now, allowing the female Jedi to slip through is line of sight and come up on his side flank. The saber ignited with the all-too familiar hum as Ahsoka came circling around the lake, the green hue of her saber blurred through the thickly gray smoke as Ar looked up. Ar squinted, seeing a orange-skinned Togruta.

"Hello there." The creepy warm welcome was said from Ar as he stepped out from the smoke to see the woman face-to-face. "Ah, you must by my shadow."

"Whatever weapons you have, take them out and throw them into the lake." Ahsoka readied her stance incase this man took her for a fool. "Slowly now," she added, watching him as the man dug into his pockets and pulled out a knife, tossing it into the lake. Then another hand came reaching into his holster, the blaster pistol was unsheathed from it's holster before that too was tossed uncaringly into the lake. "I guess you got me young lady."

"Turn around." Ahsoka was not going to take any chances while she waited for the man to turn around. "Hand's up where I can see them."

"I hope this doesn't take very long, after all I have places to go." He murmured as Ahsoka came up from behind and begin patting him down with one free hand. "I don't think you'll find anything, I tossed all the weapons I had into the lake. As you said darling."

"Shut up." She was beginning to get annoyed by his voice, not to mention the accent he carried.

"C'mon Ahsoka, hurry…" Razor mumbled to himself, he knew that they were already late. The Republic Navy was already here, more than likely the troops have landed on Utapau and were taking down the last remnants of the Separatist Army.

"Hands behind your back." Ar did as he was told, mentally enjoying all of this. Ahsoka on the other hand could smell the scent of blood on him. Noting that he had handled the fake corpse back at the village, rules out the prospect that he may have others around. Snapping the binders together of his wrist, Ahsoka then grabs Ar by the binders and brings him down to his knees.

"Commander Razor, come out, let's take this man back to the LZ." Razor was already jumping out from his perched hill, sliding down the rolling green grass before almost seemingly leaping to catch up to General Ahsoka.

"Ma'am, nice catch." The clone Commander complimented as he nudged the Separatist with the butt of his rifle. "Thank you Commander." Ahsoka nodded, her warm smile stretching across her features as she walked alongside the cuffed Starkweather. "Report to the men that we have found his ship and that we need to get a team here to collect what evidence is left."

"Yes ma'am." Razor began to lag behind in their pace to their respective speeders as the Commander reported their findings by the lake with the men. With Ar under arrest, they could proceed on regrouping with the main force on Utapau.

"I hope you know what you're doing will be the end of you." Ar mumbled as he was pressed up against Ahsoka's speeder. "You're words can hardly spread the fear you once had Mr. Starkweather." He snorted to her comment, enjoying the fact that this woman didn't know what was coming her way. The Jedi in return gripped his wrists, making sure he didn't do anything to the binders before turning him around so that he could see her. "Listen, we're going to be taking you back to the village where you'll be transported to one of the frigates. If you try to escape, the men under my command will have no choice to but hurt you. Possibly even kill you. So drop the tough personality façade and let's just take you back to Coruscant peacefully."

The white thick strip above her eye lifted in curiosity and suspicion to see if he was going to oblige by the set rules.

The men before her instead grinned with the set of deadpan look in his eyes. He didn't seem at all taken back that he was found and captured, nor was he - on the surface anyways - finding any of this satisfying.

"Good, we'll be right there." Razor switched the secured channels off as he began marching his way towards the parked speeders. He was only feet away from Ahsoka and Ar when he heard the familiar clicking sound of his holo tablet. Picking it out, he turned it on.

The image was fuzzy for a while until it cleared out, then a welcoming surprise came into clear view as Razor noticed it being Supreme Commander Palpatine. It seemed that the message he spoke was automated, there were a few words about a insurrection happening on Coruscant. The Jedi have revolted against the Galactic Republic. Then the words

"Execute Order 66."

Razor had his doubts when the image flickered off and he placed the tablet back into his gear pocket. Looking up to Ahsoka who was quite perfectly handling Ar by herself. He wasn't sure what to do at that moment.

But Order 66 was a red flag. Executive orders were to be carried out without question, without hesitation.

Quietly pulling out the pistol from his holster, he readied it; leveling it out against the Togruta's head.

Ar blinked as he noticed the Clone Commander removing his weapon and aiming it not at him but at the Jedi before him. All he could do was sit and watch as his freedom neared very closely now.

"Ready to go Mr. Starkweather?" Ahsoka said gleefully, wishing now would be a good time that Razor reported back to their speeders. "Commander, are you ready?" She said, looking over her shoulder to see if he was coming back.

What she didn't see was the Commander walking towards them with a look on his face that could have easily been read even with his helmet on. It's been two year's since she joined this war, and having been in the trenches with so many clones, she knew how they operated, how they acted. She didn't view them as cold less, lifeless beings with no soul. They were people. They were men who fought a war that they were born into.

But now, here, Ahsoka didn't see any of that. What she saw was her subordinate aiming a weapon directly at her.

There wasn't enough time to even breathe a word when the sense of danger swarmed her like a long lost lover. Instantly, she flipped her saber on and blocked the blaster bolt that came flying through the air. The bolt, deflected, hit directly against Ahsoka's speeder repulsor system in which it caused the speeder itself to simply fall to the earth like a piece of heavy machinery.

Ahsoka then deflect another bolt before she managed to grip the Commander's pistol and yanking it out of his hand. The pistol then was thrown into the lake behind him, but it didn't stop the clone Commander from quickly switching to his rifle. His three years of persistent war has trained him to be a harden combat tactician. Not only was he intelligent to command and entire battalion of clones into the heat of battle. But he was skilled enough that he was dangerous to handle when fighting against.

Personally, Ahsoka didn't see much action from the Commander as this was her first duty as General. But now she was seeing it for the first few seconds as three bolts were quickly shooting out like hot piercing arrows from the gates of hell itself.

She managed to deflect all three bolts before yanking the rifle out from his grip with the force. "Enough of this Commander!" She shouted, in hopes of snapping the Commander's induced state of aggression. Whatever caused this, this was not him.

He didn't speak a word as he removed a combat knife from it's sheath tied around his ankle. Charging after her, Ahsoka was not going to let him harm her nor was she going to simply kill him because of it. Instead, Ahsoka held out her hand and sent out a small stun wave to push the Commander down to his rear.

Ar took this opportunity to kick the woman behind her knee's, forcing Ahsoka down to them as she swung her light saber at Ar's direction. The swift combination of Ar lifting his hands at which Ahsoka struck her light saber sliced the binders apart.

"Thank you madam," he thanked the inept Jedi as he ran around to take the other speeder. Ahsoka jumped up and over her damaged one and down in front of the one that Ar was going to escape with. "Not so fast!"

"Not smart." He murmured as the Commander came from behind, stabbing Ahsoka into the muscles of her collarbone. She screamed out in pain before side swiping the Commander in the face with her elbow.

"Commander!" She cried out his rank in her best effort to snap him out of this disillusion he was having.

But it was to no avail as she kicked her in the abdomen, sending Ahsoka reeling back into the speeder.

Ar wrinkled his face with disgust as he pulled the speeder out from underneath Ahsoka's body. Ahsoka herself turned just in time to grab the speeder's frame; her saber readied to slice into the frame to ultimately stop it from being used.

But the Commander who had just enough time to get onto his feet thought otherwise.

The clone sent the knife slicing directly across Ahsoka's knuckles, causing her to drop the saber. The woman who held tightly onto the speeder then looked back as she was punched in the face. His hand then reached to grip her wounded clavicle, thrusting his thumb into the slit as she screamed out in pain.

In all of his time in combat, he didn't want to see this one die a painful death. His order was to simply remove her, not torture her.

As she struggled to maintain dominance, Ahsoka extended her hand out to take back her saber that had fallen to the ground. Only this time she was met with resistances as the knife came jeering down into her throat. She used her hand to swipe at the clone's hand from reaching his goal, the knife in use wasn't knocked away, instead Razor looked at her with frustration. She was not making this easy.

"Get off of the speeder idiots!" Ar cursed, trying to back out his speeder with all of its power. Razor looked up, finding this imbecile not worth the effort in bringing back alive. Letting go of Ahsoka, he then promptly kicked her in the face with his knee plate, sending the woman down like a stack of cards. "Thank you good sir."

Razor then flipped the knife between the digits of his fingers, then executed the into the air by sending it directly into Ar's throat.

Blood spurted out as the once great bio-weapon expert fumbled with the knife burning into his trachea. Both hands struggled to grip the handle but failed as he felt his life waning into the void of darkness.

Ahsoka meanwhile send her ankle to meet against the clone's weak point behind his knee. Sending him flailing backwards before stopping himself from completely losing ground. The Jedi however was already up and standing with both of her light sabers now humming with life.

"Surrender Commander, you have no place to go."

He tilted his helmet, looking at her merely as a traitor of the Republic. He wasn't under some spell, some mind-controlling drug. He was ordered to take her out. She was the new enemy of the Galactic Republic. Why wasn't she seeing this?

Ahsoka looked on with her own amount of frustration. He wasn't simply going to step down and they were going to fight to death it seems. Heaving heavily, she controlled her emotions and focused her energy on him.

Reaching back behind him, Ahsoka proceeded by warning him one last time, her saber's and the stance she took becoming more offensive than defensive now. Razor then removed a thermal detonator, a thumb gently pushing against the safety, then setting the timer to go off as soon as it touches another surface.

"Sorry ma'am." He whispered apologetically before tossing the white spherical device down to her feet. Ahsoka immediately shot her hand out to catch the thermal detonator with the force. It was a distraction as Razor came in kicking her other hand that held on to her saber, knocking it out. One renegade hand then came crashing down upon the already bloodied face of Ahsoka, forcing her to maintain her focus on the detonator while she rolled over on the ground.

The clone Commander immediately placed his foot on her throat, hoping to crush it before she managed to get her saber into position and attack at his limb. Ahsoka used the force to kick the detonator off into the distances, resulting in a explosion that kicked up dirt and grass. The shockwave hardly caused a flinch in the Commander's attack as he then knelt down and punched her again.

Ahsoka who could feel the heat of pain surging through-out her face managed to get the saber into position. She then maneuvered it underneath the Commander's helmet. One of her eyes was bloodshot while her nose trickled with her own blood. But she was still formidable as the Commander looked back, her reflection closely being seen through his dark visor.

"End… this." She croaked, feeling his boot pushing harder this time. The saber was humming loudly as the Commander stared at her. There was no report from him, no look of expression. Gone was the predictable and out came an unpredictable mistake.

He gripped her hand that held the saber and forcefully pulled it away from his face, slamming it against the ground as he went about in crushing her throat.

Ahsoka's eyes reeled back, the blue rim of her pupils were seizuring against the edge of her eyelids. She had never felt this helpless before. Even when the situation seemed dire and she had no hope, she had never felt helpless. Somewhere, Anakin was always watching over her.

But now, isolated from anyone. She was going to die a cruel death, alone.

The stumbling Ar took hold of a blaster pistol that was holstered on the speeder bike, blood oozed out from all sides of his mouth as he fired wildly at the Clone. Hoping to get revenge for how he was dying now.

The Commander didn't flinch until he felt the hot burning sensation smack up against his back plate, causing him to lose grip of her hand.

Ar choked to death as Razor looked behind him, making sure he was finally dead before turning to see Ahsoka.

Her fingers came underneath his helmet, unlocking the seal and removing it from his head. She wanted to see his eyes, that look on his face. But all she could see was the look of a soldier, his face not disturbed by any emotions and the sweat that accumulated around the edges of his brow. Death was in his eyes and he was prepared to take her life.

The saber in hand turned on again, this time she had no choice but to kill the very man who helped win this war.

Her jaws gritted together as she was prepared to take the plunge into his body, only to have him take her hand again, forcefully snapping her index finger backwards and taking hold of the saber. Tossing it behind him. Ahsoka clenched down her teeth as the pain rushed along her nervous system. It was this that she placed her hand, palm first against his breast plate. With the force, she managed to push him off of her to which she placed her leg between herself and the Commander, springing her soul out from the trap of death. She leapt just enough to which she could be on her legs, running towards Ar's ship.

Both hands shot out from the side, Ahsoka taking hold of the fallen light sabers and igniting them. The bloody bruised Togruta woman sprinted across the hills and towards the pillar of smoke. Ar's ship was small and hopefully she knew what kind of model it was if she had any chance in escaping.

The clone Commander shook his head at what just happened before reaching to his feet and sprinting off towards the Jedi.

Ahsoka slammed her hand against the docking switch, the doors closing behind her as she ran up to the cockpit. Sitting in the pilot's seat, she began looking over at the controls.

A cough escaped from her nearly crushed throat, trying to retrieve air for her lungs as she managed to understand the basic layout of the controls. Elbowing a switch on her side, she gripped the sticks and pushed back the throttle.

Razor shielded himself as the engines blasted into the earth, then lifting the vessel into the air. The ship swiveled in place before lifting its nose against the pale blue sky. One final thrust sent the vessel straight into the sky, leaving behind a mess and one angered clone.

The ship jolted inside as they broke through the planet's atmosphere, revealing to the wide vastness of space. Stars sprinkled throughout. Laying in the seat, a wounded Ahsoka took in a deep breathe before running her hand against the bruised throat of her neck. Her veins was pumping against the skin of her neck, revealing that she was still in fight-or-flight mode.

The blood from her nose continued to trickle out, gaining her attention when a drop of it met against the consoles.

She looked down, staring at the console and the blood that made its mark. She lifted both hands that were shaking to wipe the blood off, but instead she noticed of her bent index finger. The adrenaline made sure not to draw focus of every inch of pain around her body. But seeing this, she casually gripped it, her eyes looked away momentarily as she sharply took in the stale air. On the count of three, she forced the bone back into its socket.

She choked out the pain that built at the bottom of her stomach, tears beginning to formulate at each corner of her eyes, then riding down against her bruised purple cheeks.

The vessel's coordinates were then whispered out politely in electronic beeps before visually stimulating her eyes of where this vessel was originally going too.

Her eyes looked up, meeting the soft blue glow of the hologram. The coordinates were going to take her to the mid-rim of the galaxy where the least concentrated of the Republic's Army would be at. Slowly blinking, she could feel herself dozing off. Before she did, she switched the ship to auto-pilot. Allowing the vessel to take her wherever Ar was going too before slipping out from the pilot's seat.

She crumpled her knee's against the cold metallic floor of Ar's ship. Her good hand reaching against the railing to lift herself up again. Slowly making her way to a bunk, she pulled it down and slumped over it. With that one good hand, she removed her saber from its hilt and ignited it. The hum of her green saber glowed luminously against the darkened space of the ship.

She then switched the saber over to her wounded hand, making sure to balance it out evenly and not to hit anything of the ship before tearing her clothing away at her shoulder. There, blood spilled like a stream seeking out the mouth of the ocean. She gritted as the pain swept in, nearly sending her over before taking the saber into the one good hand and leaning up against the hull.

Patiently and precisely, Ahsoka cauterized the knife wound with her light saber. The cauterization was painful to deal with, her wounded hand wishing to grip against the edge of the bunk but her index finger wasn't allowing it. Reeling her head back and slamming it once, she could feel the heat closing the wound up.

Pulling the saber back, she looked to her wound and nodded that it healed up. She re-attached her saber to it's hilt before going about to tear the sheets from the bunk to make a makeshift bandage to tie around her knuckles. Once all that was completed, Ahsoka lied against the bunk, her eyes quickly closing. The Jedi who arrived to this planet to find and capture a Separatist ended up being the target. She couldn't believe it, and wondered as to why Commander Razor suddenly took into attacking her.

She wasn't even entirely sure if the platoon that came with her were on this too. Whatever the case was, she needed some sleep. Hopefully soon when she awakens, she could set the coordinates back to Coruscant and get this issue sorted out.

For now though, Ahsoka allowed her mind to peacefully return back into an empty white void. No sound of war, no screams of pain. It was a way for her mind to reset after each mission, but not when a mission went terribly wrong. While she slept, she couldn't help but waking up every few minutes to make sure she wasn't still on that planet.


	2. At War's End, Comes Death

_Star Wars _and characters do not belong to me.

Author's Notes: Guess these chapters go long? That's okay!

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><p>Set several years into the <em>Great Jedi Purge, <em>Ahsoka who is now a wanted Jedi sets out to find other survivor's of the purge. However, an obstacle stands between her and freedom on the planet Ruuria. A former ally during the Clone Wars, Ahsoka is being hunted down like a animal. A traitor to the Galactic Republic. Pressed against a wall with no choices, Ahsoka makes a decision to either escape or take a stand.

In this chapter, Ahsoka flees from her enemies. Ultimately she must fight or flee from the ruthless Commander Razor.

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><p><strong>Chapter 2 —<strong> _At War's End, Comes Death_

The moment Ahsoka heard the warning message from the Jedi Temple on Coruscant, she knew everything went to hell. Her world was turn inside out and the Jedi have become the enemy of the state. The Republic was christened into a new era, a world without peace. A world without the Jedi.

From that moment on, Ahsoka escaped into the stars. Her life as a Jedi Knight will forever be changed. Weeks went by as she went from planet to planet. Territory to territory. All of whom were under the control of gangsters, pirates, the very scum that she was sworn to protect the righteous people of the Galactic Republic from. They were her allies. She didn't have very much credit to go on but gradually gained enough to modify Ar's escape ship into a haven. Over the months, the Republic was transformed into the dark Galactic Empire. No longer were they the peacekeepers of the galaxy.

Everything that Ahsoka grew to learn and appreciate about the Republic had all eroded away. There was nothing but dust and echoes of it's former self. Politics were geared to change and create laws, the rules, and everything else in between by the guiding hand of the Emperor. The once Supreme Chancellor of the Republic was merely a Sith. The Sith that they were eagerly looking for.

It wasn't simply that Count Dooku was not the sole leader of the Separatist. It was the fact that he couldn't have done everything by hand by being the pawn himself. When he died, the Separatist were still operational and fully functional.

Grievous and the other Separatist died by the hands of Ahsoka's former master - Anakin Skywalker. It came as a shock like no other to Ahsoka when she learnt of his betrayal. His turn to the Dark Side. She never felt so sick in her life when the news reached to her. And his face. He longer had the face of life, full of sarcastic smirks and gruff expressions. The man Ahsoka knew was enclosed in a black coffin. A machine now more than man.

The Empire had spread its power wide and great. Creating a vacuum in to how Ahsoka would handle staying away from the spotlight. She disguised herself daily, taking different clothes, hidden were her light sabers beneath cloaks and jackets. The Jedi Knight robes were burned. Everything about her past life was simply erased.

She was only Ahsoka Tano. A Togruta with a knack as a handy-man. Her knowledge on a vast fleet of starships helped her achieve the necessary credits to buy food. To forage new clothes and to escape when need be.

She came to Ruuria that sat perfectly well on Hydian Way's channel of hyper routes. Seeking refuge among the peaceful going species of Ruurian's. Even despite how creepy they look as giant walking insects, they were generally peaceful. Never were they the kind of species to take risk. Perhaps this was the one particular attribute Ahsoka should have known about, particularly the event when the Empire reached its grip on this sector of the Galaxy.

There alone within the jungles of Ruuria, a SpecOps team of Stormtroopers with white armor and black streaks of visors. Their armor however was not based on the Phase II of the Clone Armor. Most of the Empire's troops in fact continued to use the Phase II armor, but these men were using a prototype.

One could only tell that they were part of the 101st Battalion of Legionaries. A special company comprised of Clones and other humans. It was the first time that the Empire began recruiting others than the scripted clones. The reason behind this fell upon the Emperor's fear of a clone uprising. They were all breed from a single template. Jango Fett. The logical conclusion was to create a specialized company to see how clones and other humans faired on the field of battle. The 101st were them. Specialists of the highest caliber. It was said that each trooper had a wide-range of skills. Even for the non-clones, these men were the tip of the spear. And there spear was reaching very close.

Ahsoka's breath quietly calmed to a decent pace. Her heart slowing its own pace down to a reasonable measure. The tips of her fingers nether the less tingled with the burning sensation. Her body was prepared for the hunt. Among the raining dawn jungles of Ruuria, their prey calculated the number of men within the vicinity. She could sense each one of their pulses through the force, only to grow weaker as she went further down the jungle. Each montral on the side of Ahsoka's head gratified in sensing the presences of the men as they closed in around her. Unknowingly to them, they were walking into the trap that they did not see even with all the technology they had on them.

The cries and howls of Trachyura monkeys only frustrated the men on the ground, their weapons drawn to the leaping primates. For days they chased their prey into this area. It was unknown to them, but quickly they were understanding what kind of environment that engulfed them all.

Ahsoka's eyes closed as she pulled every ounce of energy to the center of her core. A flash of images again surfaced from the bottom of her soul. Her training.

"When the enemy does not see you, do not make it your business to be seen. As a Togruta, you are born as a hunter, you stalk the prey, you track the prey. You attack the prey.. As a Jedi, you must learn to control the thousands of emotions that run through your head. With each breathe you take, allow the force to guide you. With each fiber moving in tandem, allow the force to help you. The moment you use your light saber, you are placing yourself in a disadvantage. The enemy will be relentless towards you because of it."

One of the men pushed aside the vines, his visor reflecting what little light there was in the jungle. The sound of droplets became alien to the Togruta as she heard the water molecules hitting against the hard surface of armor. The rifle in hand swiveled carefully to each direction he was looking into. All he could pick up through his thermal imaging was different readings. Each with their own signature. The soldier rubbed both lips together as he cursed silently beneath his helmet's respirator. Air bubbles beneath the soles of his boots compressed and collapsed with each step. The ground oozing with soft mud and rain water. Everything becoming a beacon of their locations.

"Remember Ahsoka." Her Master leaned in from out of the darkened shadows of the Temple, his eyes gleaming with stern instructions. "You are a Jedi, you are the protector, the guardian of this Galaxy. Do not let the enemy overcome the freedoms, ideology, and security of each and every individual of this Galaxy."

Both eyelids opened, then looking to her side with ease of control to see the men oblivious to her presences. She stepped out from behind the tree trunk, one foot rose mid-level of her waist as she shot both hands towards his neck. When her feet came to, he met against the angle of his knee cap; ultimately crushing it inwards.

The man who felt the searing pain shoot up from his leg hardly had the time to scream or even swing his weapon to fire as he felt his neck twist in an unnatural way, completely severing the nerves that connect all bodily functions from his brain. Ahsoka released her grip on the broken neck soldier as he came collapsing against the muddy ground. Her eyes rested upon the soldier, his lifeless body not reacting to what had happened. Finding no other choice, she began climbing up the tree she hid behind. Hoping to gain an advantage point over her enemies.

"TC-232, report in." Commander Razor ordered, his helmet receiving no transmissions of any sorts. Switching to thermal imagery, he scanned through the thickly grounds of the jungle, only receiving the heat signatures of others that were not him.

"Shit." The curse escaped from his lips as he reported to others who were searching for her that she was near them.

Ahsoka ascended into the canopies, each hand gripping the next jutted bark as her feet angled obliquely to provide a decent amount of balance. The Togruta then snaked up onto a large width bough of the tree. Her eyes snapped and shot to each trooper who were looking about the area with great intent of finding the Togruta of the jungle. One of them however had the unlucky appreciation for his skills in finding the fallen comrade of his. Her master taught religiously of the foundations of combat.

"Avoid confrontation as much as possible Ahsoka. Just because we are in a war does not mean every battle we fight must be won with fists and blasters."

She sighed to that thought, her job to escape this place just became much more complex.

Looking through the rain and fog had become something of an obstruction, blinding her ability to see beyond the wall of trees and other flora. If there were more, then undoubtedly they were coming for her.

She looked below once more, finding a trooper just walking pass her from underneath. The other's were isolated but closing in on her direction. If this man alerted the others in this direction, then from here on out they would have concrete proof she was here. It would be a never ending loop of violence on her way of escaping the jungle. Biting hard on her bottom lip, she needed to do something.

Kneeling against the branch, she waited until he passed before silently falling to the ground. The trooper looked down to the body, seeing a broken neck and the leg of his limb bent inwards. He cursed as he turned, looking to the direction of his fellow comrades, but couldn't speak. A sudden rush of black and white with the onset of vertigo caused the lights in the back of his eyes to simply go dark.

The trooper fell against the tree while the shadow figure of Ahsoka stood against the palette of green. Her hand coming down to the side of her waist as she looked off into the direction in which she was going to take. Taking this moment to look back, she made sure he wasn't awake by kicking him on the codpiece. No movement reacted back, nodding slightly at the results Ahsoka then darted off into the right side of the forest.

The direction she took was well away from the other grouping squad of soldiers. They weren't going to find the two bodies without having to stumble upon the area by force. They were far too spread out to even begin thinking of diverting men power to search an area that is already occupied by two others.

The one factor however Ahsoka suddenly received was the fact that they would be maintaining close contact. A field squad leader have a nasty habit (in this case anyways) to constantly ask for reports from branching search parties.

Shaking her thoughts off, she had no time to return to the scene. The consequences she made were of her own. More importantly, she had an open access to freedom - again.

Running, she could sense more men off into the area she was going to. Her face wrinkled with disgust as she slid against the mud, stopping against overgrown shrubs off on the bank of a small stream. She made use of the jungle's ambiance to cover the smushing noises created by her feet of each step she took.

The trooper who was not far off swung his weapon towards her direction. The electronic guidance with thermal imaging couldn't pick up any direct signals. The forest was glowing with red and orange hues. The only way he was going to find this renegade Jedi is if she was running like a nerf with its head cut off.

He didn't speak, didn't whisper. They were on private channels. She knew this enough that they weren't communicating on an open channel. Clones did this to prevent their words from being heard openly in the midst of the battle. They were doing the same tactic here.

Looking just above the shrub, the whites of her eyes shifted anxiously around to find a gap in their field of vision. If she could slip pass them; then maybe - just maybe she can actually get out of their kill zone.

The soldier continued to scan the area before looking to his squad, motioning to the direction of the sounds he must have heard. Ahsoka instantly looked down to her feet that was covered in the brown earth mud and the green blades of grass. Footsteps! It wasn't enough that she had to focus on escaping out from here, but a Padawan mistake was it of her to forget to cover the sounds of her footsteps! She grinded her teeth together, almost wishing to smack her forehead with the palm of her head.

More on that later. Blinking, she pooled her focus on the men that were beginning to group together in an effort to find something in this direction.

They were coming her way.

She couldn't take on multiple targets without using her saber. Even if she tried, they were sure going to fire their weapons off. Revealing of an attack to the others in the vicinity.

She needed to avoid them at all cost.

Quietly, Ahsoka began sliding each feet to her left hand side in an effort to slip right from their line of sight. A group of five began spreading out while being in proximity of each other. They were closing in faster than she had thought. One of whom was squarely walking right into her path. If she didn't move now, she was going to be stepped on, and not in a good way.

In the last ditch effort, Ahsoka rolled just enough to cover and break up the contour of her figure against a small flowing stream. The stream itself was created by the overflow of rain coming from the top of the mountain plateau. Her familiar rustic skin tone was camouflaged by the brown of the mud. What traces were left about her dissolved with the rest of the earth. Both pupils from her skull shot up to the soldier, his head popping into view from behind a thicket of shrubs. The helmet of this man looked to the right, then to the left. It took him a good moment to gain his bearings in this area before he could even take another step.

These men were on the edge, cautious predators who were seeking a very dangerous game.

Each tooth grinded against the other when she had her eyes shut to prevent the white coloring of her eyes to give away her position. If they saw her, they were going to open fire without a hesitation or a slip of a warning. They were not here to bring her back alive. No, they would've done that back in the fields. They wanted her dead.

From the soldier's point of view, he could not see nothing beyond the green that engulfed the scenery. It was all too the same. Shrugging, he felt there was nothing here.

That was until he saw a foot print off into the distances.

He motioned others to come where he was, allowing Ahsoka to peak beneath her eyelids to see where he was going.

She could see the trooper looking at something, but what?

It was only a matter of time before the Togruta realized what had happened. Her footprints.

But that wasn't the only thing that was going through their minds, nor their headsets. Each of them jerked their heads up like predatorily avian who had just found their prey, then looking to each other. Obviously they got word of the other squad stumbling upon the two deceased fellows.

As she saw this, she caught one of them looking back on his trail that he had walked on. The other footprints were not his, counting of the toes, he knew he missed something. Tracing his sight along the path, he then noticed something odd in the small stream. A click inside of his helmet swept the area with a blue line, the thermal imaging charged and found a unreasonably red source of heat imitating from the stream.

The white helmet tilted in curiosity, with the weapon raised the soldier suddenly felt a chill run up his spine as his own posture and pace changed to a much more cautious measure.

Ahsoka snaked her hand to the hilt of her light saber, grasping it carefully while making sure not to cause this gung-ho sapient to open fire without question. As soon as she could feel the slide of the trigger, she leapt into the air like a warrior of some distant past. The orange eyelids shuttered back to reveal a more lethal game to the soldier. The man's face sprang with shock as he shifted weapon quickly. What he could catch of this Jedi was her athletic build of her body, the green blades of grass and the mud that covered most of her body. She had no clothing that would be considered 'normal', but rather scraps of material that covered her hands, feet and sensitive parts.

She lived well within the Ruuria for the past six months to know it was best decidedly to blend in with your surroundings. The soldiers in white however knew it very well. Maybe this was why this man who saw the Togruta springing out from the earth like a jack in the box requested that they bring their camouflage armor.

That request was denied over and over again.

The index finger snapped beneath the trigger, unleashing a volley of a dozen shots, only for each red hot bolt to be deflect right back into his abdomen. The punch of each bolt was like being compared to be met with a hot poker each time. The end result caused the soldier to fly just a feet off the ground before landing on his rear. The others who were also grappling with the surprise ambush soon opened fire.

Every fiber and ligament contracted as Ahsoka took off speeding into the deeper portion of the jungle, her pursuers following with quick haste. "We got her!" Their contacts pinged one another, resulting a domino-like effect in which every man was sent off in a chase of the Togruta Jedi.

"We spotted the target, going after target!" The reports came screaming in at Razor's point, he knew the chase was on and immediately signaled for a speeder at his position.

"Sir!" One of the operator's saluted the Commander, dismounting from the speeder to allow the Commander to take control of it. The engines roared as the camouflaged speeder raced off into the jungle.

The jungle wasn't exactly the best area to be using a speeder, any ordinary man would've lost control and careened into a tree. Commander Razor wasn't any ordinary man. His visor guided his path, picking and helping him avoid each tree and rock that might have placed him in danger. It took patience's, grace, and quick reflexes. Only the best drivers could handle a speeder at high speeds through a thick jungle such as this.

The small hounds of troopers were quickly gaining speed, but not enough as they noticed their target quickly running down the mountain. The fog grew less as Ahsoka came running down, she couldn't use the force to push her feet faster. If she went any fast, she was going to lose control and possibly trip. Not something she wanted right now as a hail of red bolts came raining down from behind. Narrowly missing the female Togruta.

Each breath she took, the more her lungs burned. Each step she took, the more her legs ached. She could feel every beat of her heart as she streaked through the jungle through the fading fog. The men who followed were quickly dissolving into the background that was the jungle.

The screaming howl of the speeder soon passed up the group of men who came running down the mountain. None of them seem to stop in their pursuit of the Togruta. Even if she managed to escape their vision, their HUD's provided a clear picture of the Togruta thanked in part by Commander Razor and his pursuit of the woman.

Every tree and plant was folding to the way side against the black reflective sheen of Razor's visor. He could see the Togruta running for her life like a hunted traitor she was. She wasn't going to escape the consequences she had made all those years ago. The Commander was going to make sure of it. Pressing down on the leverage, the speeder boosted over a small hanging cliff, landing harshly to the earth but without even touching it.

He looked off to his left, finding the Togruta to be looking right back at him.

"This guy doesn't know how to quit!" Ahsoka choked out, her breath interlocking with each word. Finally she could see an overpass. If she can just make it, she can probably escape this jerk.

Ahsoka prepared herself for the jump but when she began to get the bigger picture, she noticed that the gap was wide, leading to a crack into the ground with a deep canyon. The canyon being a ravine.

She couldn't help but roll into the ground to stop the force of motion building up in her legs. Every roll she was sent on, a mixture of grey skies and brown dirt continued to swirl, literally assaulting her vision and bearings. Stabbing to the ground with every finger, Ahsoka stopped just inches away from falling into the deep ravine, but not all of it. Her legs dangled, scratching with a fever against the walls of the cliff while her arm and hands clutched against the earth in hopes of clinging for dear life.

Ahsoka coughed with the burning sensation of her throat and nostrils. Feeling she couldn't do that again without really weakening her state of physical being. Looking up however, she was going to need to push the desire of rest aside.

The speeder that Commander Razor rode in on slowly came to a stop just feet away from the fallen Togruta. His helmet masked the ever increasing grin while he pulled himself off of the bike. No words were exchanged with the expressionless soldier who Ahsoka coming off of his speeder. But she could feel, through the force that she knew this man.

The revelation struck her with the power of a thousand suns as she looked up, her eyes hollow of emotion itself, yet what was written into the Togruta's face was nothing more than annoyance.

— — —

"Commander, this is General Ahsoka. Your new CO of this battalion." One of the clone soldiers announced before stepping aside to reveal a young woman, possibly in her late teens walking up into view. She wore similar clone armor, adorned with the red garbs that were underneath it. What Commander Razor saw was nothing but a simple child. He wasn't told that his battalion CO was going to be a child. But one look at this Jedi General and he knew she was serious.

Her eyes traveled up the tall towering clone to meet his own blue eyes. There was a generous smile that came about when she saw him. A warm feeling that was never shared with among other Jedi. The last General they had was more stoic than indulging himself in high-fives and smiley faces. This one though, despite her age showed strength through her smile.

He could tell she had see just as many battles and skirmishes as he did. Maybe not at the beginning of the war, but close enough.

"CT-4545 ma'am." The Commander then saluted with Ahsoka nodding for him to stand at ease. "Good to meet you Commander, I'm Ahsoka Tano. I'll be leading this operation from here on out." The other clones who were going to be under her command looked to each other a bit in surprise before nodding in agreement. A Jedi on there team would make things go much more faster. Not to mention rumors were being spread around the bay that the war was going to end soon. Something most Clones were unsure about.

Later that day, they talked and discussed Operation Fast Sweep. She revealed to every clone in the hanger of the plans, brought by the droid who showed them the holographic image of the planet. She sounded well rounded as a tactician. Revealing what was to be expected, how to have the men deal with the civilians there and how to handle Ar Starkweather - their target. Every clone knew who Ar Starkweather was, ever since the incident involving a lost battalion of clones who met the infamous Separatist, they returned carrying with them a disease. Ultimately to say, the Venator-Class Star Destroyer had to be destroyed in space.

Looking between the flickering images of the hologram was Commander Razor with his helmet shuffled underneath his armpit. His face was stern and serious, each eyebrow furrowing together in thought while his lips maintained a thin straight line. Razor looked like every other clone in the service with the exception of a small cut scar at the edge of his lip.

So far, he could see Ahsoka was going to do well in this operation. She was clear about what was needed to be done and didn't reflection any worries through her soft expression. But if he was going to lay down his life for this General, he usually spun a little light dinner over rations. It wasn't procedure, not by any Clone's standard. They were engineered to follow orders down to the letter. To trust their commanding officer without question or hesitation. Even though they had the will to not follow the orders, it needed to be on good grounds before they were court martial. Not something anyone was willing to count on.

This was why Razor always had a meal with his CO's before any operation was conducted. To get where their heads were in, what they were like in general. Not that any Jedi actually enjoyed a one on one talk with their clones. A few did. A few that Razor considered good friends afterwards.

Walking through the hangers of the vessel that evening, he could see Ahsoka sitting on a stool, checking over her equipment while an astromech droid stood beside her playing a tune. The sight brought a unusual smile from the Commander who came closer to the area with two rations in each hand.

"I see you're still up General." The soft tone of his voice echoed slightly in the chamber that was the hanger. It was enough for Ahsoka to look up from her fiddling with her light saber, her features softening even more so now with a wide look of a smile etched into her expression.

"Oh Commander, did not see you coming in. Just, just give me a moment." Returning her attention to the light saber, she made some final calibrations to the weapon before hooking it up against her belt.

Razor on the other end of the spectrum simply nodded to her comments, "it is not a problem ma'am." Came the rhetorical tone that reassured her that this Commander had his patience's. His voice on the other hand was something that wielded a hoarse vocals; relevant to the aspect of him being a soldier of war. There were hardly any times in which the Commander used a softer tone of voice. When he did, the harshness that was his voice still bled through. But nobody minded, especially Ahsoka who brought one leg and laid it across another.

Kicking over a bucket, he placed both meals on it with ease before moving one of the ladders used to climb aboard a gunship over near the bucket.

Looking back on the Commander, she merely offered a welcoming smile. The blue-rimmed eyes then fell to the sight of rations on the bucket. "Looks like you knew what my stomach was asking for." Ahsoka teased as she scooted in closer to grab her meal. Razor of course couldn't hold back a few chuckles when he too went in to grab his ration. "A soldier's stomach is like a soldier's mind ma'am."

The female Togruta could not agree more, even reinforcing the idea by removing the utensil and stabbing her meal with might. "And currently its desire is this. Even though the taste isn't all that great." The clone Commander in front of her merely smiled to that comment while he too managed to get his utensil in for a bite.

It didn't take long for both of them to be overcome with hunger, allowing silence to be the norm of their conversation. Ahsoka happily ate through most of her meal, not skipping a beat. Commander Razor on the other hand took his bites small, not for the purpose of enjoying the flavor but simply because he wasn't that hungry.

All he wanted to do was sit aside duties for a moment to talk with Ahsoka, when she wasn't the Jedi that the clones looked up to. Each Jedi that Commander Razor came across always had their best selves displayed for all to see. That was great and all, especially for moral when faced against dire circumstances. But Razor hardly had a knack for trusting someone who was as robotic as themselves, and the Jedi had a way of being more robotic than he was. Perhaps this was because of their code of ethics or whatever jumbo that they inspire to achieve. Razor was nothing more than a soldier who hardly displayed much emotions through times of battle. But it didn't mean he wasn't any less human than the next clone.

Looking up, he could see Ahsoka saw some really awful stuff during her time in the war. But she wasn't showing it. Perhaps it was her training that allowed her to go on without remorse or the consequences that weighed heavily on other soldiers like Razor.

Whatever the case was, he was more interested on who Ahsoka was.

"How is your meal?"

"Good, Commander. Thank you." Ahsoka answered with a fork full of delicious meat. Her eyes lifted for a moment to met his own, then quite simply gave a thank you nod with her fork.

"I also take it you have not eaten in ages?"

The astromech droid who stood beside Ahsoka continued to play a tune, to which Ahsoka whispered for him to stop and to return to his normal business. The droid gave a few beeps, accepting the new set of orders before shutting the program of music off and leaving the area. Ahsoka then looked up with a shrug then a smile in response to his question.

"Surprisingly, I do eat as often as I can. But for some reason I could not find the time to eat!" She laughed it off, easily reminding herself how often she would eat with her master - Anakin.

Razor nodded in tune with her comment, knowing how it is to not eat for a long time. This was usually when rations were short and times were long. You were lucky if you could get a decent unspoiled ration pack sitting on your lap while in the trenches of an alien world.

"It also helps sooth any anxieties that I have." There was a pause in her steps of eating, taking a moment to set aside the fork against the rim of the ration pack. Memories flooded in when Anakin would consistently ask of her to meditate. It wasn't so much that she had a problem with anxiety. It was sometimes that it just runs up against her spine like a cold lifeless being stretching out their hand across to touch her.

It was difficult to explain in thought, but Ahsoka always felt that meditation hardly did much of a trick than eating.

"I guess that's why my former master always annoyed me about meditating. Allowing the force to calm any worries or anxiety."

"Hmm,"

"What?" Ahsoka looked up, her mouth slightly full of food, her eyes narrowing down on the clone with mild annoyance. In reflection, the clone Commander shrugged, holding back a chuckle as he too dug into his food with a plastic fork. "Nothing. I just find it funny that a Jedi needed food to help them relax."

While Ahsoka never found an offering to reveal her true intentions to anyone about how she went about relieving stress, it was one thing to find a clone essentially giggling about the thought. Thinking about it, it didn't really bother Ahsoka all that much; especially when he too had probably seen and went through far much more than she did.

"Well, it helps with me." She quipped, wishing to simply leave it be.

"I see," he added, working his way around the main course of his meal.

For a few more moments, neither of them spoke. Instead wishing to finish up their meal while relaxing in the cool hangers of the Wild One. Every now and then, Commander Razor would peak from beneath his eyebrows to see the Togruta female happily eating away at her meal.

For the both of them, rations was somewhat common place. By somewhat, Jedi hardly ate rations unless on the battlefield and even then some were just hardened combat veterans to which they could magically call upon the force to quell hunger during times of hardships.

Razor wish he could conjure up some voodoo spell to help him stave off hunger during times when supplies ran low. He had to hand it them, they were the very tip of the spear had they formulated a strong army solely comprised of Jedi. But at least to some extent, Ahsoka wasn't like them. Well she was but far from it. She was intelligent and thoughtful. So far at least. What ever happens tomorrow, he'll know that she will handle anything that is thrown at her.

All these thoughts that ran through his mind however didn't last long when the young woman began speaking to him, calling for his full attention.

"What about you? What helps you relax?" Her eyes lifted to meet his to which almost hesitated to look back directly into her own. Ahsoka wasn't sure what might have caused this hesitation but she wasn't about to back down from a perfectly inoffensive answer. That was if his answer was something embarrassing, and by the looks of it, it was more or less personal.

Razor didn't say much while he chewed on his food, in reality he was thinking about it. When he did find the answers, he looked up to see the Togruta woman looking right back with curiosity itching within the pupil of her eyes.

"I uhm," a hand lifted in the air, suggesting he needed a moment while swallowing down this hunk of food. Shaking his head, he brought his canteen up, swallowing in the lukewarm water.

"I spend time with my men. Talking with them." Razor ran his hand down his mouth, wiping away the water while he maintained his sight on the Togruta.

Ahsoka lifted her head in understanding to his answer. She always saw the 501st talking amongst each other before each and every operation. They were seemingly like brothers, especially how similar they looked between each of themselves. It wasn't much of a surprise to hear that Razor himself spent time talking with his men.

"That's good." She answered. Finishing up her meal, Ahsoka then politely sat her ration pack back on the bucket while checking over her clothing to make sure none of her meal managed to escape the clutches of her mouth.

Again it seems that silence came back. What could be heard was the low hum of the vessel as it went through hyperspace. The sound of it all reminded Ahsoka of how ethereal it was to be in the hanger. In fact, she loved being in the hanger. Finding it to be the perfect place to meditate your thoughts out.

Speaking of thoughts, Ahsoka herself couldn't help but ask a soldier like Razor what his thoughts were on this war.

Intertwining each finger together with her hands, she place the idly against her lap while she looked across to the Commander. It took her a moment for the words to formulate correctly without sounding rude or silly. But when it came, it came out straight without going around the corners and making it sound like she wasn't at all trying to work her way around the question.

"What are your thoughts on this war Commander?"

Razor bit his lip while the brown of his hair masked the confused look of his face. It was a difficult question. Sure he could go down the route many others take. But he knew it wasn't the answer she was searching for. So when he inhaled what he could of the air, Razor looked up to see Ahsoka staring down on him with the same curiosity.

"My thoughts?" The question repeated, this time from the Clone who almost looked lost in her words.

But it didn't take long for him to wrangle up the thoughts together for a coherent and honest answer.

Shrugging, the Commander peeled back from hunching over the ground and to sitting straight (or to what one would call sitting straight on a ladder) and simply gazed across to the Togruta. Ahsoka didn't move, her eyes were still, unflinching and unwavering. The tip of her montral's tingled with a sensation, she was simply eager to what he had to say.

"War is war. Don't see it one way or another. The Republic is simply trying to free this Galaxy from what the Separatists are doing."

The thin line of white that ran above her right eye lifted in question, and Razor saw that. Knowing that the woman didn't buy into his answer. He really wasn't trying to get into an argument or sound overzealous on the duties they were doing but when silence returned; all Razor could do was just tell it how it is from what he felt all these years.

"Every time I fight, I'm not thinking about the Republic, about freeing some helpless society from the grip of the Separatist." Pausing, the Commander licked his lips as he briefly looked away only to return to meet Ahsoka in the eye. "I'm fighting because my brothers are fighting. I'm in this war because I was genetically created to be in it. Do I think what we are doing is right? Yes. Do I think this war needs to continue because of us? No. There isn't a moment where I simply sit down and think why are we fight this war? I know what I'm fighting for. My brothers know what they are fighting for. This war, it doesn't mean anything to me and my men. Why? We didn't ask for it. I didn't ask to be created from some dead bounty hunter. I was just thrown into the gauntlet. I had to adapt. My brothers had to adapt. And now here we are, on the verge of winning it."

The clone Commander diverted his eyes down to the soles of his boots, feeling the insides of his gut twisting and turning with the meal inside. He knew saying such things openly to others, especially Jedi Commanders was not looked upon with a graceful smile. But when he looked up to see Ahsoka's face, he could see a smile.

"I thank you for that Commander. I think you and your men for everything you have done to help us." Rising to her feet, she walked around the bucket before extending her hand forth to the Commander. Razor traced his sights down the length of the rustic orange tone of her forearm before coming upon the open palm of her hand. It was then that he took his hand into her own, both of them shaking it with Ahsoka shaking his with much gratitude and thanks.

"Now, tomorrow morning, let's finish it together."

"Yes ma'am."

— — —

The reflection of Ahsoka's face could be seen through the dark abyss of the man's visor. Over come with feelings, she could sense fear rising from the edge of her fingertips as the Togruta female clung to the precipice of the cliff.

The man before her stood staring, as though he was here sent by some God to kill her. Ahsoka curled her lips, the whites of her eyes flooded with irritation as well as the crimson blood pumping through the minute veins circling around each pupil.

"C'mon, do it already." She harassed the trooper in front of her, a hand falling to the wayside to meet the light saber clutched at her hilt.

But the trooper knew better. He wasn't a hunter of Jedi for no reason.

In the midst of the silence, Razor stepped forward. Ahsoka knew he was making a bad move, the familiar hum of her light saber came on but the trooper didn't hesitate as he kneeled down, bringing a hand that clutched around her throat. The Togruta woman swung the saber in an attempt to stab him but she felt resistances coming at her wrist, when she looked down, she noticed her hand with the saber being held back by his own.

Her eyes then looked up as she felt every muscle being pulled up with his hand. Gurgles and coughs emitted from the Jedi as she looked on to the trooper. Still she wasn't going to allow this to be her hand, insisting the idea with kicks from her feet. But the more she struggled, the tighter the grip of his hand became.

Knowing she was going to kick relentlessly, Razor landed the Togruta woman on the ground with her feet not wishing to meet it; soon though she knew the rules and began holding back her kicks from her feet. In return, Razor loosened his grip slightly, allowing more air to enter back into her lungs.

In the reflection of his visor, Ahsoka couldn't see anything. Her mind reeled in struggle to remember who this man was. Even with the force, she could simply not find any. Not when she was be gripped by the throat.

Still clutching her wrist, Razor began twisting I unusually. Resulting her face wrinkling and contorting with pain while he continued to twist and turn the wrist backwards until it met it's end. Every tooth gritted against one another as Ahsoka felt the pain growing from her wrist.

It didn't take long before she completely felt her wrist twisted all the way, resulting several pops emitting into the air and a muffled sound of pain choking out from her throat. She could have easily screamed but screaming only caused the pain to be relocated from her wrist to her neck. With the wrist out of its socket, her saber was dropped and promptly kicked off into the ravine by Razor's foot.

With a free hand, Razor removed the blade from its sheath. Ahsoka who still reeled from the pain tried to mitigate it with the force or with what she could manage with her eyes forcibly closing due to the pain. Saliva oozed out against her lips, draining down to the white of Razor's fingers. The other saber was on the ground, eclipsing on the cliff's edge. If she could just get her hand free, she could grab it but it seemed that Razor was already twelve steps ahead as he backed over to it and kicked that over as well.

Ahsoka was defenseless, but not out of the game. She just needed to concentrate enough to send a shockwave in the air with the force. However, just thinking about it was hurting her. Every digit that covered her throat was increasing in strength, causing her eyes to flip back as she struggled to breathe.

With the blade ready in hand, Razor took more last look of Ahsoka.

"This is the end for the traitor's of the Republic." Were the words whispered calmly from his helmet before the knife was plunged into her gut. This time, Ahsoka couldn't help but scream into the air, her face contorting to the most extreme, the pain surging through her like a demon seeking out its victims. The blade was drilled into her, piercing an organ. The weapon came out, blood oozing from the wound before it again was thrusted into her, this time into a lung. Coughing blood, Ahsoka's mind began to narrow with her vision also collapsing onto itself.

Before long, the Togruta woman was thrown over the cliff and into the great river below. Her body twirling in the air as hundreds of feet was quickly gained by the body before splashing hard into the ravine.

Razor stepped over, his eyes narrowing into the ravine to make sure she didn't escape with her Jedi tricks. When he spotted the orange body weaving in and out of the stream, he knew his job was finished.

Replacing the sheath with the original knife, now bloodied, Razor hopped aboard his speeder before cruising back to meet up with his squad. The reports of her death will spill across the Imperial channels. Another Jedi has met their end by the sword of the Galactic Empire.


	3. On The Edge

_Star Wars _and characters do not belong to me.

Author's Notes: None

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><p>Set several years into the <em>Great Jedi Purge, <em>Ahsoka who is now a wanted Jedi sets out to find other survivor's of the purge. However, an obstacle stands between her and freedom on the planet Ruuria. A former ally during the Clone Wars, Ahsoka is being hunted down like a animal. A traitor to the Galactic Republic. Pressed against a wall with no choices, Ahsoka makes a decision to either escape or take a stand.

In this chapter, brought back from the edge of death; Ahsoka finds herself face to face with an ulterior arms dealer.

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 3 —<strong> _On The Edge_

Warmth, heat, it rose from the earth to reach the edges of the familiar orange toes of Ahsoka's feet. The feeling of it all engulfed every ounce of her senses before dramatically being pooled together in a fuzzy sensation that could honestly feel as though she was just waking up from a long slumber. Her nose twitched to the scent of breakfast that lured her lulled eyes back to reality. Was it morning already and who was making breakfast in the Jedi Temple? Ahsoka rolled her head around on the soft cushioning of her bed before yawning wildly.

The window panels peeled back, revealing the sight of a thousand vehicles streaming in a thousand lines across the global city that was Coruscant. A low electronic hummed beckoned for her attention but the Togruta female would not wake, instead pushing at the device that hugged the desk next to her bed. Again it hummed, this time louder. Ahsoka lifted an eyelid to see what all the fuss was about. The time it displayed showed she was late. Really late.

"Gah! Blasted, I'm late!" She spat out in frustration, the covers that overwhelmed her body were immediately thrown back as she climbed out of bed and onto the soft rugs that were the carpet. Each and every toe were greeted to the soft fabric made by the most professional weavers in the Galaxy. She didn't know where the Jedi have the time in their busy schedule to find decorators to do the workings of each and every apartment, but she needed to thank the Goddess that they did put the time in.

Slipping off her robes, she adorned her casual Initiates attire. It was pretty sub-standard by anyone's taste in fashion but the Jedi were not exactly into fashion statements it seemed. With what she had, it was quite simple. The under tunic came on easily while the over tunic was a little difficult to get one. There was a pattern to it, which even for Ahsoka was frustrating. Especially when she was running late.

Draping the brown cloak over the rest of the attire, Ahsoka didn't waste what little time she had left, running out from her apartment, she made her way through the halls of the Jedi Temple. Other Jedi who were in vicinity to see such a spectacle as a Initiate running from one place to another was frown upon, but no one was going to stop her.

Taking a left, she made her way to an area decorated with fantastic statues and pillars. Each pillar had an inscription of ethics that every Jedi follows to this day. All of them were quite ancient, but they still managed to teach and inspire people. Finally she came upon a room that was designated for meetings. It wasn't a place where one meets with the Jedi Council, that was usually left at the top of the spire. Here however was a place where the Jedi met together for briefings.

The dark brown door of the room slid open, revealing several of her closest friends. Among them were those who were in her level of training. One of whom was a human male, his name was Darryl, a guy who had much charm yet plenty of wisdom. He placated thoughts about becoming a Jedi Knight, wishing more to focus his time and skills to become a healer of sorts. Which always earned eye rolls from Ahsoka when he talked about it.

Her other friends looked on to a set holographic display in the center of the room. Among her friends were two Jedi Master's who were stoic in their appearance. When Ahsoka entered, she felt relieved she didn't miss much, considering nobody was saying anything to her. Taking in her short breath, she found her bearings and decided to look up to find Master Yoda among the sea of faces.

The contour of his appearance settled behind the blue frazzle of the hologram. Looking to him, Ahsoka smiled and waved her hand to appease to the Master that she was in fact late to the meeting.

"Sorry Master, I was late waking up." She confessed, her feet marching over to Darryl. Ahsoka looked over to him and smiled but his eyes were glued to the hologram.

"Hey Darryl," she greeted him, but the response she got was less than welcoming. In fact, she didn't hear or see any other greeting or acknowledgement from Darryl. Tilting her head slightly, she repeated his name. Nothing.

This time, she waved her hand in front of his eyes. He wasn't blinking.

"Darryl, are you okay?" Ahsoka knew he was a teaser, always faking things, especially when it came to her. But this was unusual for him to go on for this long.

Looking up to the two Jedi behind her, she noticed that they too were looking straight to the holograms. Neither of them giving a second glance to the Togruta woman who stood before them. "Master's, is there something wrong?"

They to did not speak or given attention to her. Swallowing a hard lump, she turned her attention to the hologram to see what they were looking at.

But there was no hologram. There was no display, no Master Yoda, no Jedi Temple.

Ahsoka's breathing became erratic, her chest heaving like a wild sea during a storm. Each palm in her hand sweated fear from their respective pores. All she was looking at was a thin black line stretching from one end of the horizon and to the other.

Suddenly, the temperature in wherever she was dropped down to freezing. Both arms shot around her frame, cuddling herself for warmth while she looked on to the black line. The very line that began to grow closer to where she was.

For some reason, she could not help but stay there and watch as this black line became thicker by each foot it took. Swallowing her parched throat again, she noticed a figure coming out from this line. It was human, about six foot in height or to what estimate she could guess. Narrowing her eyes, her vision became more blurry than it was naturally.

"Who-whose there?" She cried out, her voice all but weak and timid. Looking down, she could see that she was naked. Nothing had draped her body. All of her thoughts ran through her mind as to what in the world was going on. Was she having a freakish nightmare that she didn't wake from? A vision in the force? What was this?

Returning her attention to the figure, she now saw it was face to face with her.

Every fiber in her being fell apart when she realized who it was…

"Anakin? Master Anakin? What is going on here?" His face was calm, quiet, peaceful and curious all at the same time. He simply looked on with a mild sense of fondness before the eyebrows above his eyes furrowed together.

"Master, it's me… Ahsoka." She placed a hand over her chest, hoping that it will prove who she says it was. She couldn't do much else, revealing herself naked to him would be quite embarrassing, not to mention rude. Whatever dream this was, she was sure glad it was him who showed up to get her out of this hellish nightmare.

But Anakin didn't say anything, instead he looked on. Frustrating Ahsoka further as she kneaded her fingers into her chest. "Master! It is me! Ahsoka Tano!"

"I know." He whispered back, his head tilting slightly to the right as he gave a good look to her. "I know." The words were whispered again before he struck her with his light saber.

She screamed out in pain as she felt the saber burning right through her body. Every nerve yelled out in agony that all she could do was clench her teeth and shut her eyes. The pain continued more harshly as she tried to hold on to her life.

A gasp of air succumbed to the freezing waters of the river, the burning sensation in her chest came at a feverish pitch. Her head lifted above the surface of the water, her eyes assaulted by the daylight that was the sky and sun. Hand clutching at her chest, below her breast, she felt the thin clit of the wound. The flash of memory came through, the trooper. He stabbed her with the knife.

Her teeth clenched harder this time, the pain was unbearable even for herself as she swam towards the coast. Clamoring to stay above the water at the same time, she knew she didn't have long. With this kind of wound, she didn't know the extent of the damage that was done. Coughing in a fit, Ahsoka swam as hard as she could to the coast. The water was unbearably strong, and cold. The current was thick in its waves to bring her further down stream. If she didn't make it to the coast now, she was going to drown.

Swallowing some of the water, she pushed on, each stroke took so much out of her strength that she wasn't sure if she was going to make it. Feet finding the bottom, she treaded through the waters before collapsing against the hard gravel and pebbles that was the coast.

Her eyes rolled over with her head, each of them facing the blue skies that hovered above her. Ahsoka breathed a lawful sigh, filled with pain that surged through her throat, causing her to cough up more blood. Wincing again in pain, she couldn't handle another coughing fit, especially with each cough, a burst of blood just spurts out from the knife wound. Instead of focusing so much on the pain, Ahsoka turned her attention to the beauty of the sky while she moved several fingers over the clit of the wound. Blood oozed out like a stream, running over the edge of her ribs before collecting against her side.

Her face winced with the pain when a finger poked through it. The other wound around her torso too oozed with blood. Craning her neck, Ahsoka took the opportunity to look around. She was surrounded by a green forest, none of which she could simply walk through. Not in her condition anyways. She didn't carry any supplies to which to bandage up this wound.

The only way was to heal herself with the help of the force. Something she hasn't focused much of her training on. That and the Clones always had a standby medic on operational battlefields. What a day to actually remember what little she was taught about it.

She moved her hand over the wound, firmly placing it down as she bit down on her bottom lip. The pain was almost unbearable as the cold breeze that decided was the perfect time to blow through. Quietly to herself, she retained her attention on the wound while focusing all of her energy to the wound. For someone like Ahsoka who was not trained in healing, to heal an internal wound would take months if not years depending on your skill and concentration. Something that Ahsoka did not have during her time with the Jedi. The energy of the force flowed through her, but obstacles of other thoughts transcended down from the gut of her soul, causing very little of her wound to heal properly.

Again, the young Togruta woman coughed, blood escaping into the air and then landing randomly across her chest. She was struggling to breathe now, feeling that with each breath she made, her lungs faltered to keep up with the pace, causing even more pain. The internal injury of her lung began to finally heal, but much of it was done simply to close up the wound. Much of the blood remained in her lungs and it would take days in a Bacta tank to properly heal the injury itself.

With the lung wound healed, her hand fell to the way side and to the granite of pebbles and sand. Her eyes rolled back to the sky, her breathing becoming intensely difficult now. If she was going to die here, then to some credit she managed to live this long on the run from the Empire. Ahsoka in her final moments felt that she carried on the torch of what the Jedi remained in her eyes. Their peaceful nature of the Jedi would all but be lost with her. Looking to the side of her peripheral vision, she could not see how much further she could get within the woods to seek help.

Even if she could find help, would the natives of Ruuria have the appropriate medical care for a Togruta anatomy.

Sighing low fully now, she could not see as to why her brain raced with twenty questions. The pain pulsated from both wounds and all she could think about was how the natives of this place even know about Togruta anatomy.

Looking back to the sky, she could see nothing but blue skies now. Clouds drifting in the air like chandeliers hovering over her. She could not imagine having to die alone, let alone this young. But she fought on as best she could, with what training she had.

Her vision narrowed like a tunnel, black encircled around it while the center of it all blurred with great intensity. A numbing sensation drew from every tip of her fingers as Ahsoka took in her final breath. Closing her eyes now, she drifted away. The rivers of life carried her on, allowing her to drift back to the comfortable bed within the Jedi Temple. The blankets swooned over her body like a lost lover seeking warmth from its partner. She grabbed the lining of her blanket and tucked it deeply around her chest before resting her head against the soft fabric of her pillow.

Soon, she was fast asleep. Ahsoka was back home.

Thirty minutes had passed since the Togruta Jedi became unconscious. Her body laid out with the coast line of the river, her feet bobbing in and out of the current's wave while the sky above turned mellow grey. The atmosphere became thick again with the air filling of warm thick moisture, tall-tell signs of a storm being concocted far off in the horizon. Along the length of the coast was a curious being. It's short-frizzed fur color was that of the sand, brownish tint to it. The bipedal being stood no taller than five feet, it's arms lanky and thin but strong enough to pull a hard enough punch to knock out even a human. The double joints in its arm's helped with collecting pebbles along the river's coastline. On its left arm carried with it a wooden staff of its own height. The staff was used less for balance and more for turning over flat stones to find objects worth of value.

The whiskers that stuck out on both sides of its thin mouth were brushed against the breeze of the wind. Anyone with extensive knowledge on the Galaxy or had seen one of these creatures were called Frozian. A rare being around this system due to the gravity of Ruuria. But for it, it had was just becoming adapted to the gravity of Ruuria.

A glint in the water caught the attention of the Frozian male who began pedaling over to it with great eagerness in its gait. With the staff in hand, he used it to poke at the object with the glint catching in his eye. Wincing in reaction, he lowered himself to take a closer look at it.

The object in question was cylindrical in nature, small as well. There were buttons in all sorts of variations.

This object was only seen amongst one particular group of people.

"A lightswwword?" The Frozian male spoke in basic, asking itself whether this objection was as he thought it to be. Cautiously, extending a hand towards it, he picked it up. The beady eyes within his expression grew wide with intrigue while at the same time inspected the object in hand. In awe by this object, the one lingering question that was left out in the wilderness soon sought the Frozian mind quickly.

Blinking in hesitation, he then pulled his interest of the object back before scanning the environment around him. If this is here, then surely the owner of this thing should also be around here. The Jedi were known to never lose these priceless weapons.

But the greed within him started to peg at the exit of running and fleeing from this area. If the Jedi did in fact lost it, surely they too would be looking for it. Just when he thought he was in the clear, he noticed a figure off into the distances, orange in color and lifeless in movement. A elongated strands of whiskers above his right eye lifted in curiosity again.

Could it be? Maybe. There was only one way to find out. Bringing the object into his hip pouch, the Frozian soon began treading along the coast. The closer he got, the more detail he could see of this being that laid on the ground.

"A Togrutttah?" The Frozian limped over a small rock before seeing the full figure of this body. The familiar montral's were on her chest, a trademark of sorts of the people. But from the looks of it, she was lifeless as one could be. Upon closer inspection, he could see two wounds about her. One below her breast and another around her torso.

With the staff in hand, he moved to poke her to see if he could get a reaction out from the Togruta woman.

Nothing.

Again he poked her, and still nothing. Wondering if there was anything on her, he kneeled down beside the corpse with the aid of the staff. The clothing that he wore draping over his entire frame flowed carelessly to the ground as he grew closer to the earth with both bended knees. Once he was close enough, he reached out with a hand, a uncertain expression evolving across his face as a free hand of his moved across to her hip. The pouches that were tied together along with a belt held nothing of value.

Snorting in annoyance, he continued on, even as far as lifting her body over to its side to see if there was anything around her rear.

When he did this, the body coughed in a convulsing matter, causing the Frozian to stop what he was doing and jerk back in a defensive manner. The Togruta that he thought was died continued to cough before stopping. The Frozian tilted his head, curious to see if she was alive at all. With the staff, he poked her, this time against her cheek.

A reaction came from the Togruta woman with a ill-sounding cough of blood.

"Ahhlive?" He emphasized the word true to the revelation that he discovered about this woman. Standing alone in the forest, the Frozian contemplated about this being. Wondering if his boss would be interested in this woman.

There would be plenty of credits involved, that was for sure.

Without a second moment's hesitation, he dropped the staff aside and kneeled back down to pick the body up. The Togruta woman coughed again, obviously in pain from movements that were being made to her body.

It took only an hour to return back to the Trader's Town of Ruuria. A temporary set up for interstellar traders, merchants and entrepreneurs who came far and wide to visit Ruuria. The natives of Ruuria, Ruurian's liked the idea of trading with others outside their sector of space. It helped not only created a stable economy amongst their home planet, but allowed them to create colonies that exist elsewhere in the galaxy.

The streets were usually crowded with said merchants and traders, seeking deals and hoping those coming to visit would buy their strange and exotic products. Most of which was spice and other drugs. Since the Empire's grip didn't entire concern Ruuria, then the Emperor's finest didn't bother caring for what illegitimate products were sold. For them, it was not of their concern. For the rest of Ruuria, it was perfectly fine.

As far as that went, pirates, slavers, and other travesty occupational roles that the legit traders and merchants saw were nothing more than a hindrance to their business. Mainly because no one wanted a gang to oversee what was going on here at Trader Town.

For the Frozian male, he and his boss were stationed here. Their main trade of business was weapons dealing. His boss was a human male, about six feet in height with dark sleek black hair. A mohawk to be exact. He usually worse a deep green robe that fell from his tunic all the way down his back, barely touching the ground he walked along. He often wore robes of exotic fabrics, finding that it distracted and broke up his image as a infamous weapons dealer of this part of the Galaxy.

Earning attention for such a business was frowned upon by the Empire. So, to his boss's motto: Look good, look expensive, but never look as though you got a pole up your ass. Bizarre human language the Frozian male thought.

The Frozian male however could not exactly walk through the streets with him carrying a wounded female in tow. It would garner too much attention. Attention he didn't want. So with the idea in mind, he brought the girl to the port of Trader's Town that laid just outside the town's reach.

A medical hospital was around here to which the Frozian male brought her too. The Twi'lek that he met in the hospital was quick and forward in getting the Togruta woman into a bacta tank, an urgent look was all that could be expressed and read as the Frozian male watched the Twi'lek man bring her to the rear portion of the hospital.

The hospital wasn't exactly equipped to handle major injuries of any sorts, but it was established primarily because of all the addicts who purchase spice around here would overdose. Sending their convulsing bodies to the hospital, or morgue.

Oddly enough, the owner of this hospital was a Twi'lek woman, not the one who carried the Togruta woman to the tank but different. She didn't exactly established the hospital on the grounds of supporting these traders of spice. But to help the spice addicts themselves. She was as one would say, an advocate in fighting spice addiction. How she managed to get a single bacta tank was something no one questioned. Considering how expensive they were. But most theorized it was from private donations, if not from her own money.

Her bed became gruelingly uncomfortable, so uncomfortable in fact that she began to feel something poking her side. Ahsoka figured it was probably her body aching from sleeping on one side all night long. Turning over in her bed, she shuffled both feet around before finding a more comfortable position. Still the pain pinched her nerves with great force, causing her to scratch the area of inflection.

Before she knew it, Ahsoka cried out when the pain became too much. She screamed out with eyes shooting to the inflection. There was nothing, and with the pain, there was no feeling she could sense. Craning her neck back to the pillow, she was then met with a fading image of herself just floating within the wall.

Her eyes narrowed in on the image, unsure what it was. Moving a hand to rub her eye, she could clearly see it now. She was just floating in a tube of some sort.

"What the?"

Clink, clink, clink. Came the sound that woke up the unconscious Togruta.

Her body twitched and shuddered to the sound that echoed within the watery chamber. Bubbles rushed to the surface and passed her blurry vision, her breathing was difficult but something was in the way of it. With a hand, Ahsoka brought it up to her face, finding it too blurred within the depths of the tank. Wondering what was on her face, she brought it to her mouth, only to feel something obstructing it.

A mask.

To that, Ahsoka realized she was in a bacta tank.

"She's awake Kahkin," the man said as he pulled his face back to get a better picture of this floating Togruta.

The Frozian male beside the man nodded with excitement in his eyes. "Yes, yes, she is boss."

Tapping his finger against the shielding of the tank, he hoped to get her attention.

Ahsoka heard the tapping again, her eyes adjusting to the chemical of bacta. When her vision focused, she could see a man clearly standing in front of her, along with a furry creature next to him. Questions ran through her mind, with the most important: How was she still alive?

"Hello darling," the voice from the man echoed in the chamber.

"Can you hear me?"

Ahsoka looked on, unsure what to say or what to do.

The man looked to his Frozian companion and curled his lip. "She can hear me correct?"

"Yesss." He answered.

Looking back to the floating Togruta, he offered up a smile, hoping to quell any issues she may be conjuring up in that head of hers.

"If you can hear me, just nod why don't you?"

Ahsoka agreed to do what the man said, for a little while anyways just to get her bearings straightened out here. With a nod, she answered the man's question.

"Good," he retorted most jovially.

"My name is Ariazi," a hand was placed over his chest, indicating of his good nature and polite manners. For a human born and brought up on the world of Kuat, being rude to a potential customer or stranger would get you narrowed eyes of disapproval. Scowling from other Kuati's was seen as the harshest punishment that a Kuati native could get.

With the hand still on his chest, Ariazi then lifted it and motioned it towards the Togruta who looked on with wandering eyes of the Kuati arms dealer.

"I do not know your name, but we'll get to that soon enough once you're out of that tank you're in." Coughing under his breath, he motioned with a hand over to his side, the Frozian male looked up and brought out from his belt the light saber. The very one that made Ahsoka squirm in the tank.

"This is Kahkin by the way," Ariazi added with a edging grin, "thank you Kahkin."

Looking to the Togruta when she had squirmed at the sight of her weapon, he knew right then that he got her metaphorically by the genitals.

"I see this belongs to you, Togruta." Not knowing her name caused the arms dealer to simply adapt by substituting it with her species name. It wasn't uncommon for him to speak of such ways, but under the circumstances, he had no other choice. She was as strange as one could come across. No name, no information about her, she was anonymous. Besides the fact that she was something of value, and of great concern.

Looking over the cylindrical object between his hands, he felt around with it with his naked hands. The thumb resting squarely on the blade emitter, causing Ahsoka to squirm even more. Ariazi lifted an eyebrow at the response he was getting, figuring this was almost too easy.

"A Jedi are you?" He whispered almost ominously, there was however no degree of hatred running off the tip of his tongue, that much Ahsoka could tell - at least from what she could hear in the tank anyways.

"I suspect whatever gave you those wounds were… how should I put it?" Tapping a finger against his chin, Ariazi needed to make sure he got her where he wanted before moving on to more pressing and potentially business related matters.

"Prejudice against Jedi?"

Ahsoka looked on, her hands freely floating in the tank. She could with the aid of the force remove the saber from the man's hand, but it would do no use while she was in a tank. Even thinking about it cause a pang of grief in her mind. She needed to think outside the box if she was going to get out of here.

"I can help you with that, you know." Ariazi continued, both hands now directing towards him with the included light saber.

"See, I'm not just an arms dealer. I'm an entrepreneur at heart!" That comment alone earned a round of chuckles from the Frozian companion, to which even Ariazi snapped a grin to his almost childish behavior that Kahkin was displaying.

But the conversation quickly became serious with Ariazi sternly looking down at the floating Togruta, his eyes becoming as cold as the floor he walked on while the hand that held the saber disappeared behind his back.

"You have no where else to go, no place to hide, and really young lady - you have no future." He concluded with a tap of her tank with her own light saber. Ahsoka who looked down to this man saw that he was only trying to drive a certain arrow of fear into her soul. If she bowed down to his fear, he would have her.

And to that, Ahsoka wasn't going to buy into his crap. But what could she do? Wave? She couldn't speak with a mask covering her face, let alone while inside a bacta filled tank. Instead, Ahsoka looked on, the montral's of her head floating beside her. She too was serious, and not concerned with fear or worry.

Ariazi took note of her expression, finding that she was going to be a harder nut to crack than the usual sluts he would find on the streets.

"However, I can simply pay the bills, Kahkin and I will hop on our ship and leave. Never to get into your uhm, head tails." There was a pause in his words, knowing that she would not trust him with an ounce of her soul. People like Ariazi who found an offering they could not refuse would simply never abandoned it to chance.

"But that would not make sense, right? I would immediately go to the hands of the Imperial Forces and tell them where you are. They would swoop down from the heavens just to find your little orange ass." That one too caused Kahkin to laugh at.

"Jedi, they never trust anyone but their own." Flipping the light saber up in the air like a boring toy, Ariazi pressed on to convince this woman that she had no where else to go. But to him.

Looking closer at the Togruta female floating in the tank, held by wires that coupled against her flesh and the mask that hugged her face. All he was seeing was an opportunity floating before him. That was when Ariazi made his move.

Pressing both hands together, he spread each digit apart while they touched, hoping to convey a sense of understanding between the two parties.

"Listen," he began calmly as though he was reeling in a customer to buy one of his weapons. "Even if you were to stay behind, the chances of you being discovered to be a Jedi on this planet would still be high. This planet sits on a hyperspace highway. Even if the Empire looks away from this hunk of rock, it will be only a matter of time before this planet becomes their business."

Licking the skin of his teeth, Ariazi could see that maybe he was getting to the surface of her conscious. But it wasn't enough. He had to in a sense - dangle a carrot in front of her.

"I'm giving you the best opportunity to live and escape the Empire's wrath. Join me and you'll become what you already are." He added, sweeping with one hand down vertically of her tank. But retracted his saying with a deterred glance. "And no, you will not end up a slave. Pleasure slaves never live and they don't have a future either."

"However!" The business man emphasized, "there is a market to be fed in this down trotted world we live in now." Coming closer to the tank now, Ahsoka watched as the man whispered out loudly, "Fights."

The Togruta Jedi stared into the man's green eyes, unmatched by the hesitation that Ahsoka herself pulled.

Fights?

What did he mean by that?

Days went by. The man's face wasn't seen again until Ahsoka was finally seen to be healing up. She was moved out from the bacta tank and into a treatment ward where a nurse watched over her. The injuries she sustained on this planet was still having an affect on her. She could walk, run even if she wished, but she couldn't get very far. The bacta had managed to heal up her lung wound and the gut wound she received, but the doctors of this hospital were a little more cautious.

She wasn't allowed outside the hospital, even if she demanded, mainly because they didn't know who she was. Without identification, they were hard pressed to simply let her go. So as red tape allowed it, she was forced to stay until they found information about her. Which was surprisingly difficult as Ahsoka didn't speak to them.

Telling them her name was in the same sense as giving a ping signal to the galaxy.

A Jedi on Ruuria?

She could already see the visor of the trooper's helmet had she given the doctor's her name.

Instead, she feigned traumatic issues. They figured she isn't speaking because she was frightened by what had happened to her, pushing her mental state well beyond its capabilities and into the realm of simply not speaking to anyone she didn't know.

For now while the doctors fooled around, Ahsoka was planning her escape. The man she remembered seeing behind the tank didn't show up to speak with her again. Whatever he was planning, it wasn't good to stick around and see what he had up his sleeves.

Her eyes roamed the room she was it, the lights were dimmed, shadowed only by the objects that were stationary in front of the light source. The only noise to emanate within the room were soothing electronic beeps that followed her heart beating. She looked to the monitor that read her life signs, her face wrinkling with the idea birthing within her mind. She needed to get out, but how?

Tracing the cord that was set up with the monitor down to her chest, she figured the best way to fool the system is to - simply turn the monitor off. With the monitor off, it wouldn't alarm the nurses within the hospital that she was dying. Instead, it would take them some time to realize that the person they had in this room just so happened to turn off the device.

Hand retracting from underneath the sheets, she placed it against the monitor, the switch was behind it, an issue of it being slightly far from the digit of her hand to reach. Pushing more strength into her arm, she managed to feel the switch, pressing into it the monitor then turned off.

"Okay," she breathed, seeing nothing that could cause her to second guess the action she just conducted. Removing the sheets from her body, she could see a white bandage circling around her chest and torso. Even for the wound healed, it was procedure to apply bandages with coated anti-bacterial cream. Sitting up proved something of a challenge as Ahsoka clutched her ribcage. She could feel some pain but breathing wasn't an issue.

Finally, she moved her legs over the edge of the bed and down to the cold solid floor, the sudden coolness from the floor sent shivers and goose bumps up along her spine. "Cold," she told herself while looking around for her clothes.

She couldn't exactly leave this place with only the underwear's they placed on her. The clothes she had prior to ending up in this hospital wouldn't be considered clothes anyway, it was simply a makeshift of clothes she had managed to gather around. Being in the jungles and forests of Ruuria, one needed to blend in with their surroundings. So naturally, Ahsoka had to adapt to her surroundings with off-handed clothes.

Didn't matter now, if she did have such an attire, people here would take notice of her appearance. Not something she needed if she needed to blend in and disappear.

Running a hand over the valley of her montral, she noticed that the Akul-tooth headdress wasn't there. Obviously.

Cursing silently under her breath, she pushed herself off the bed and clamored against a seat. Not being able to stand for days had a way of weakening your ability to stand on your own, to the dismay of Ahsoka as she looked down to her legs. Straightening our her posture with the aid of the chair, she then looked over by the table across the room. There, a set of robes sat. White and possibly animal fur for fabric.

There was a sigh that came across from her lips when Ahsoka realized she couldn't get far if she could not get control of her legs. Breathing in the cool air naturally, she took a step towards the table with one hand leaning against the chair. For a moment, she felt like the strength in her legs were returning. That was not the case when she took the next step, the legs beneath her gave way when all of the weight was simply poured in the center of gravity, causing them to just give way like bended roots.

"Oughf!" The Togruta choked out as she came smacking against the floor, hands spread out to brace the impact. Her teeth grinded against one another with the canine fangs sticking out more than usual this time. Biting on the gums of her mouth, she crawled towards her bed's foot rest before pulling herself back up again.

"Come on Ahsoka, get it together." She knew talking to herself wouldn't get her out of here, but it was enough that she began taking small steps towards her goal - the table.

Her feet soon found their pace, allowing Ahsoka to gradually come near the table with both hands clutching at the edge. With one swoop, she took the robes and began placing it on. It wasn't much, but enough that it covered her entire body, hiding the familiar rustic tone of her skin color. But the hood was far too small to be used in covering her head. Which was no surprise considering her montral's size.

Sighing this time to the limitations of the robes, she began working her way towards the door. The console next to the door allowed for the door to open partially, giving Ahsoka a chance to peak her head out. On either side of the halls, she could not see anyone with the exception of a now fading shadow figure of a passing nurse.

Pulling back on the door, she then made her way down the opposite end of where she saw the shadow. Several windows peaked out to the outside world. Familiar tree's and shrubs offered a realization that she was still on Ruuria. But where exactly? She didn't even know there were settlements this far out from the major cities on Ruuria.

Shaking mentally to the thoughts, Ahsoka trained her focus on escaping. Slowly and quietly, the Togruta Jedi came upon an intersecting hallway. One area led to other rooms while the left side of the hall lead towards an open waiting room. Soon, she began to move, only to freeze still when she noticed a medical droid walking out from a patience's room.

His silver eyes looked up as he staggered with the limitations of his own gait. He stood staring at the Togruta in the robes, causing Ahsoka to hold back her burning need to exhale. The droid continued to stare on without moving, then in an awkward manner, he continued on with his pace down the hall where Ahsoka was going.

As soon as she saw this, it didn't take long for her either to be following the droid. Her legs were not back to their familiar strength, but they were getting there. For now however, she was taking her time in walking. Her feet made soft taps against the cold floor, the calloused soles were toughened from months of living within the forest of Ruuria. Walking on the steady flat surface of this hospital was quite alien to her senses, added with the fact she couldn't walk right with her leg's weakened by her state.

Licking her lips, Ahsoka managed to get to the central plaza of the hospital. There, she didn't see anyone besides a Twi'lek who was busy working on a data pad near a hallway entrance. Her eyes swiveled over towards the door, noticing no one was coming near it.

Silently, the Togruta began making her way with her posture softening to make use of the light and shadows that were harbored within the area. The door was close now, her eyes settled on the entrance with lust. She was just meters away. With a hand reaching out, she pushed the door open.

A bright white light engulfed her vision, causing her to lift the hand that opened the door to cover her eyes until they were adjusted. When they were, she lowered them, revealing much of the area to be a port.

Starships of all varieties were seen stationed on the port. Most of which were small, nothing bigger than what she had normally seen during the Clone Wars. It was strange to see this here in the middle of Ruuria. Especially to what Ahsoka saw next as she turned herself to face the dirt path road that lead into the town. But the path was blocked by a frame of a body.

"Hello darling." The insidious tone of the human's voice snaked into her conscious, drawing her blue-rimmed pupils up to meet with the man's face that cradled a grin.


	4. The Enemy of My Enemy is My Master

_Star Wars _and character(s) from film(s) / TV Series do not belong to me.

Author's Notes: Hope everyone had a good Christmas! And Happy New Year's. Hope you guys enjoy this chapter!

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><p>Set several years into the <em>Great Jedi Purge, <em>Ahsoka who is now a wanted Jedi sets out to find other survivor's of the purge. However, an obstacle stands between her and freedom: Ariazi - a ruthless business man who deals in arms and fighting. In an attempt to survive, Ahsoka must fight for her life and for her freedom.

In this chapter: In her escape from the clutches of Ariazi, she is drugged and chained. Flown across the galaxy, she arrives to an unknown world to fight for her life.

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><p><strong>Chapter 4 —<strong> _The Enemy of My Enemy is My Master_

The sun cracked the sky, its ray's scattering among the world of Ruuria. Every leaf, blade of grass and surface of water reflected the warmth of the sun. It gave life, birthed a new day, there was never anything that made a day awful when one saw the sun of the evening burning vividly in the blue skies above. The insects fluttered against the wind, eager to find nectar. The wind carried the scent of food, luring hungry animals out from their hiding. The forest was alive.

But in the midst of this evening saw a different day. An array of light gave a variety of shading that illuminated the day. Ahsoka saw this when she looked into the man's eye. The brilliance of it all was darkened by his heart, showing nothing but greed. What he saw in Ahsoka was reflected in the surface of his pupils. Both of whom that did not nervously twitched or anxiously wandered. They were stoic, cold and steady.

It felt like an hour standing there, staring into the abyss of his eyes. For any person, the fear would have grabbed hold of their minds and wrapped them in thick leather, a bondage that would hold them hostage. For Ahsoka, there was no fear, no worry, nothing but the force that began to crawl up against the soft veins that lightning up the length of her wrist.

The moment he spoke those words, Ahsoka thrusted her hand against his chest. Ariazi who curled a brow looked down to her rustic hand and saw her fingers spread out and flat to his chest. He barely muttered a coherent word before he felt all the gravity of the worlds swell up against his ribs then was forcefully pushed off his feet, throwing his now rag doll body several feet into the air. The body of Ariazi rolled against the dirt ground, the cape shrouding his vision.

"That bitch!" A curse was let out, wondering to his mind if the drug was going to kick in soon.

Snatching the cap from his face, he looked up to see the Togruta woman fleeing in the opposite direction. An arm wrestled from underneath his frame, coming up close to his mouth was a wrist-mounted communicator. "Kahkin, she's escaping!"

"Yesss, boss." The Frozian male soon looked up from his seat, the crowd on the streets weren't as crowded as yesterday. And considering, no one here look like a Togruta, this was going to be an easy catch.

Before long, he spotted the fleeing Togruta with both his eyes. She was running in white robes? This Jedi had no clue how to blend in; he figured. Rising up to his feet, Kahkin took chase. The speed coupled with his species backward jointed-limbs allowed for him to easily to match speed with the Togruta.

Ahsoka heard footsteps pounding against the dirt ground, causing her to see who was chasing her. Her eyes lit up in surprise to see the Frozian right next to her, with an arm stretching straight towards her face. Ahsoka ducked just in time before coming up to bring her own hand against his double jointed arm, the feeling of his fur and joints nearly made Ahsoka lose her train of thought.

She had never met a Frozian in her life, and feeling this weird anatomy of an arm made her stumble on her grip of taking hold of his arm. But Kahkin was quicker, swiping his feet in front of her own and sending the Togruta woman flinging down to the ground with the crowd sticking to the tent-risen markets.

Whispers and words were exchange amongst the strange aliens that Ahsoka saw through her blurred vision, her hand reaching out to push herself off from the ground. However, the Frozian male had the upper hand in this situation as his foot came meeting against her back, forcing her to stay down.

"You are not leaving so soon'ah," he abbreviated with emphasis before grabbing her by the robe's hood and pulling the hood in the opposite direction, exposing the dirt-ridden face of Ahsoka's.

Ahsoka swung her leg against his knee joints, causing him to lose balance momentarily. It was enough for Ahsoka to push his hand away before rising up to her feet in less than a second. She looked to the Frozian male who just got his bearings back. "What the—?"

He was met with a face full of elbow before being knocked off to his feet, allowing the Togruta woman to evade capture. The Frozian male felt a surge of pain rushing against his face as he came crashing down, all of the air that resided in his lungs escaped along with the Frozian body clamoring to the earth.

Ahsoka who looked back couldn't help but earn a gratifying smirk before jumping up to a ladder that brought up to her a metal makeshift roof. She then managed to grab a pole used for construction and snapped it shorten the length with the sole of her foot. It didn't take Kahkin long to look up and see the tip of her head tail disappearing behind the precipice of the roof.

Ariazi who didn't look stun to see that the Jedi had escaped came around the bend of the town and to Kahkin, the Frozian male finally managed to pull himself up and grabbed a weapon from his hilt. An option that Ariazi objected to. Placing his hand firmly on the Frozian's chest, he looked down the street before motioning with a nod of his head for his companion to follow.

Kahkin didn't protest, deciding it was best to follow his boss's orders than rather confronting him on his strategies.

Meanwhile, Ahsoka was running across the tin roofs of the town, leaping every now and then of the gaps that would intercede between buildings. But it didn't take long for Ahsoka to come to the end of the town. Each brow burrowed to each other as she looked down, the ground being only seven feet from where she stood, toes curling against the edge of the ceiling.

The tree line could be seen off in the distances, offering her a route of escape. But there would be no escape if she couldn't lose these two. Looking back, she didn't see either of the two men chasing after her.

However she didn't feel so relieved until she managed to get out of this place and into the forest. Kneeling just enough, Ahsoka dropped down before pulling the robes off of her, exposing her body to the warm air that greeted her. She didn't have much on beyond what was left on her back at the hospital. Swallowing her parched throat, she took another step before feeling her leg giving way, the pole in her hand slipping away.

Her hands braced against the ground - dumpf! - the sound of her body was met with resistance from the earth. Her eyes rolled up to the tree line again, her vision splitting in two's.

"Wha—?" The dazed Togruta woman whispered. Shaking her thoughts off, she struggled to get up before feeling her other leg simply giving out. She rolled over to see if she had damaged them from the short fall. Which in her mind was impossible, but seeing her rustic tone orange legs, she could not see any damage.

Soon, she felt a strange numbness running up the back of her spine, the feeling in both of her hands fading beneath the skin of her body.

"I can't, I can't." She struggled with her words, her tongue sloshing around inside her mouth, paralysis soon sat in her mouth. Before long, the Togruta was completely incapable of moving or speaking. However her vision remained slightly intact, despite it being blurred. What she saw instead of the sun that stared back down to her were two figures hovering over the Togruta.

One of the figure's kneeled down beside her, his features coming in clearly when the figure came closer to her face. The familiar feature's of this man immediately registered with Ahsoka, causing her pupils to widen as her face jerked slightly away.

Ariazi gave a single chuckle before grabbing her face with a cold hand, "This is not your end, Jedi." He told her with a calm resounding voice. A finger slipped over her lips, tugging at them just enough to which he cracked a smile too. "Merely, a beginning." With those word's, Ahsoka felt her world fading into the dark void. It wasn't death that greeted her, but a slumber that the young woman had experienced before. It was the wait of death.

A sudden jerk awoken Ahsoka up, her eyes heavy with drugs did their best to lift up from underneath the blankets of their respective lids. Metal on metal screeched with a cacophony of pain, causing the sedated Togruta to lift her head to look at where the torture of noise was emitting from.

Her vision was still blurry, added with no light in the compartment she was in; she could barely make out where she was in. She tried to feel through the force, to sense where she was but all she could sense was loneliness amongst the stars.

Her mouth was dry, her lips begged for moisture and her tongue provided. Each lick made Ahsoka moan in pain. They've been dry for far too long, proving that licking them would not help. Settling her head back, the montral's of her head were met with a cold palette of metal. Even now with the sensation of feeling returning to her, her wrist could feel the lifeless temperature that coupled each arm.

Even the sensitive skin beneath her jaw and head tails could feel an unusual coldness gripping her neck.

Question's began to pour into her mind while Ahsoka struggled to clear her vision, each eye were blurred from the drug that was given to her. Even if she wanted to see, Ahsoka could tell that it would not matter. There were no lights. No clues, hints, or even signs of where she was. It was as if the Goddess herself had placed her in a hellish vision of the Sith.

The only thing she could feel was coldness. The only thing she could see was nothing.

She was alone.

Feeling that there was nothing else she could do, Ahsoka tried her best to get her rest - that is if she could get rest.

What felt like a week was only two hour's when that same sudden jerk awoken the Togruta woman up. Her eyes were not laden with a incurable laziness that hampered her before when she opened her eyes. To her disappointment, Ahsoka still could not see anything. Wondering if her vision was blurry or not was impossible to tell. There was absolutely no light entering in whatever compartment she was in.

But the moment she moved her head, a strange atmospheric blue haze entered her vision. A soft gasp escaped her throat when Ahsoka could see the small compartment she was in. The haze of blue light gave way to the structure that the Togruta female was in and inside of it was nothing but walls. Her feet could barely move before touching the end of the wall. The tip of each montral on her head was just a mere centimeter way before it too had managed to reach the ceiling.

Each digit on her hand moved around, hoping to assess how far her hand was from their respective walls. Her index finger didn't even stretch out to their full length before running up against a wall.

The compartment she was in wasn't any bigger than what allotted of her frame. With this sudden revelation, she shut her eyes but that wasn't enough. A strike of claustrophobia was kicking in and she began to hyperventilate. Both lungs were working against her, sucking in air and giving it away before sucking it right back in. Her chest rose and fell so fast that Ahsoka could feel her chest burning with minute beads of sweat beginning to formulate on the brow of her breast's.

"Why did I have to look, Ahsoka!" Ahsoka choked out between each breath. Her stubborn self, always curious wanted to know where she was. Now that she knew, she felt like she was going to have a heart attack if she couldn't find a way to calm her nerves.

Each tooth grinded against the other before her jaw clamped down. Her training were alluded in thought when Ahsoka kept her eyes sealed shut. Finally, she tried to calm herself down by simply breathing in slowly. It wasn't enough but it was enough to send the Togruta woman into a trance, a trance that allowed her mind to walk into a different sphere of imagination. There, she could feel a certain sunny warmth guiding up her legs and down her arms. It met her face like a morning break of dawn. The sound of the ocean came into the realm to which she began to picture flocks of avian escaping into the orange tinge sky of her world. The coast stretched out as far as the eye could see, meeting with the beauty that was the sky. The blades of grass and weed could be felt between her toes, bringing about a warm smile to her face. Ahsoka had missed this. Missed her homeworld. Extending out a hand, she firmly opened her palm up as it carefully met the sky.

The breeze of the cool ocean air filtered through each digit, corralling a soft purr from her throat as she looked up to the sky.

White clouds colored the orange-tinged sky of the air. All of it was almost too perfect.

A jolt of pain that surfaced against her face thrusted Ahsoka out from her peace and into the cold harsh reality of her world. The blue haze of her world, engulfed by the lifeless atmosphere of her compartment. A hiss followed by a metal grinding against metal caused Ahsoka to hold back the panic attack that was starting to rise again.

What came next however would push all those fears that wedged into her mind away when all the walls dissolved into a transparent image of glass. A brutal vision of a sun enlightened her pupils, forcing Ahsoka to shut them as hard as possible.

Gaseous fog were pushed aside in her window cell, allowing Ahsoka's eyes to adjust properly before looking around to where she was.

All around her, the young woman could see was a dark brown scheme of color, warped by the clouds and gas that were ripped by through her glass cell. Looking above, she could see the metallic underbelly of a ship, as well as behind her. Looking to the right of her side, she could see other window cells jutting out from underneath the belly of the ship. There were about three of them, including her own. She knew the design of this ship.

"Slavers." her bottom lip curled underneath her upper bite, sucking in the air in exhaustion while looking the world she had now entered into.

The vessel began to bank left, hurdling itself through the dense fog of clouds before breaking free and revealing a metropolis below. Ahsoka could not recognize this place despite of her extended knowledge of other worlds and cities. The blue-rimmed eyes of Ahsoka scanned the cityscape below, finding it to have unusual architecture of spiked towers with flowering needles extending outward. Skyscrapers that would have fallen apart under normal gravity could be seen here in unusual structures. Strangely, she did not find herself pressed by the planet's gravity.

Perhaps it was light? Whatever the issue was, Ahsoka was silent and in awe by the view of the city. It was industrial but none of which represented of a highly technological society. Guessing this was why those men had sold her off to slavers. A world with no ties to the Galactic Empire would be the most fruitful in off-charted worlds.

However, the world tour didn't lost long when another jolt caused her window cell to be re-introduce back into the belly of the ship. Ahsoka panicked looked up as the cell was completely engulfed.

Inside, there was nothing except silence but to her gratitude; she could see the inside of the vessel.

Where they were was a cargo hold, outfitted to hold these specific cells. A hatch was open on the far left of the cargo hold, revealing a hooded figure that brought along three metallic shaped collars and cuffs.

"Good morning, good morning." The male voice echoed into the chamber. A wash of white light came over them, forcing Ahsoka to close her eyes until she could manage to adjust with the lighting of the area.

The hooded figure was soon revealed to be the same man who taunted her with a business proposal back on Ruuria.

Ariazi.

He came walking along the length of each cell before stopping in front of one individual in his cell. With the lights on, Ahsoka could see more clearly of who this person was in the cell.

The person had a dark blue, grayish tone to their skin. He was obviously fit, muscular in tone. Numeral tattoos could be seen along the length of his arm, none of which Ahsoka could offer a clue on what they were. His sheen dark hair was long, tied into a ponytail with a leather band. A Nelvaanian as they were called.

Ariazi simply looked down to this male, his face contorted by a range of grins and smiles. "Hello sir, I hope you're feeling good for a fight today, you'll be making me more rich than any of your Gods back home."

Ahsoka looked away when Ariazi was finished with the Nelvaanian and moved onto her. Lowering himself down to her cell, she could see condensation spreading across the transparent glass walls with the man seemingly glowing in his grin. "Morning my little Togruta." He said with a lyrical note of song adding to his voice.

Tapping against her transparent cell was a collar, "I hope you too will be ready for a fight." Ariazi remarked with a too-satisfying smirk. Ahsoka didn't look, didn't bother to give in to his needs of being satisfied. The shadow of his body laid out across the hull of the ship, something to which Ahsoka figured she'll leave herself to look at. But for Ariazi, not seeing those beautiful blue eyes of hers caused him to recoil back. His expression hardening with both arms crossing against his chest.

"Tough Togruta. Hopefully you'll use that attitude to your advantage." It didn't take long for the robed figure of Ariazi to fade away behind the hulls of the ship, allowing the frustrated Togruta to finally look up to where he once was. Again it was quiet, the air was filled with nothing but the low soothing hum of the ship.

Ahsoka's eyes then fell to the floor, her feet wiggling against what space was left in her cell. She was beginning to find this uncomfortable. Both of her legs were asleep and there was nothing she could do about it. Her arms which were tied against the wall behind her couldn't be use much of any help. It was infuriating that she was in this situation. From near death to now slave, her circumstances just turned to shit each time she tried to escape. If it isn't the Empire, it was slavers. If it wasn't them, it had to be mercenaries or bounty hunters.

A lowful sigh escaped her throat, catching the attention of the Nelvaanian who sat alone in his own boxed cell. He looked up from staring as his lap to the Togruta in her cell. Their cells weren't close, but close enough to which he simply sat there and watched in detail of her body. He had never seen another alien in his life until the day that he was captured by a group of men who were bent on exploiting his tribe for resources. Resources somehow they wanted. He never figured it out what it was.

But in return, he protected his tribe from these thugs, even killing one before they managed to knock him out unconscious. The next thing he knew, he found himself in variety of worlds, seeing other aliens that looked strange and bizarre. He was coined a 'slave' to people. He was bargained off and betted on numerous of times before settling with this group of bandits. It was a first for this Nelvaanian male to see a Togruta with his own eyes.

Before it, all he knew was of Twi'lek having head tails. Believing they were the only species to have such a trait. That was until he came across several slavers who themselves spoke of the Togruta species.

Looking at the coloring of her Montral, the Nelvaanian male could see how they look similar. But no where near as what the Twi'lek people had. Whatever the case was, he wondered what she was doing here.

"Hey" His voice was hard, slightly raspy from a parched throat and carried with it the Nelvaanian accent.

She didn't hear, didn't move or probably ignored him all together. Again, he tried, "Hey, Togruta."

Ahsoka lifted her head, hearing a voice echoing from behind her right hand side. "Togruta," he called out again, earning himself a view of her face when Ahsoka finally managed to look about. "Yes, you."

Ahsoka was quiet, reserved in speaking. Instead she looked on with an attentive expression, earning Ahsoka a warm look from the Nelvaanian male.

"Are you okay?" He asked, curious of her state of health but also wishing to inject a sense of peace between each other.

Ahsoka nodded in response, her eye hidden behind the hand that was cuffed against the wall. "Good" he added, nodding in return. He didn't say anything else, deciding it was best that they didn't talk if she wasn't willing too. However, figuring it helped established that he wasn't here to cause trouble with her with wherever they were going.

Ahsoka who continued to look at his direction wondered what a Nelvaanian was doing here. They weren't - Ahsoka mentally tapped her chin - advance to traverse the galaxy. Neither were they a commodity of trading as slaves. It spurred a certain degree of curiosity that transformed itself into a sentence.

"What is your name?" By far, it wasn't digging through one's holo-files for information. But it was enough to show him that she was okay for now.

The Nelvaanian male looked to where she was and brought his chin up, "Tal'ku." He answered with a small smile coming across his snout.

"You speak good basic." She compliment with a reflective smile.

Tal'kin didn't like the language, finding it to be difficult to pronounce most things but he didn't mind it when trying to make new friends among the darkest reaches of this galaxy. "Thanks."

"I'm Ahsoka Tano." Ahsoka said before leveling her head against the transparent wall. Tal'ku looked to the Togruta and tilted his head in a slight variation. "Funny." He whispered, to which Ahsoka lifted a white strip brow over her eye. "Funny?"

"Yes. Funny name."

That was enough to earn Ahsoka a small chuckle. But their exchange of words were soon subdued by the presences of Kahkin, Ariazi's minion. "Warriorss!" The Frozian male exclaimed with the familiar emphasis on the 's', clamoring together the collars in hand suggested that they were going to have a field trip. "It is time."

The vessel that Ariazi and Kahkin owned together had landed in a port deep within the metropolis. The red sun had greeted the both of them with Ahsoka raising her chained wrists in the air to blot out the star. Tal'ku quietly protested from behind with a wince of pain reminiscing from his throat. "The sun, it's too loud." He groaned while a hand rose to cover his eyes.

But that wasn't the only thing that appeared to have swarmed the senses. Soon came the cacophony of voices, louder than the tight winding streets of Coruscant. Men, women, aliens from different corners of the galaxy were here. All of whom were hooded while dust was kicked up all around them.

The pull of the chain that entrapped her wrist caused Ahsoka to tumble off her balance and to the ground. Kahkin snapped to the Togruta who fell and grabbed her by the collar, yanking her up to her feet. "Move!" The Frozian male cried out before shoving her up to Ariazi's side. The man who was of average human height didn't seem to notice his slave next to her as he walked down the dirt street of the metropolis city.

It was bustling, alive and corroded. Neon signs embodied the street, with most advertising from everything from food to sex. It was disgusting, but for the Togruta who scanned the streets with curious eyes could not see a single Imperial symbol.

This planet was not under the control of the Empire. So who did control it?

That question it seemed would have to wait as Ahsoka felt her neck violently being tugged at, causing her to falling to her knees with a cough escaping her throat.

"Togruta…" Murmured the business man who kneeled in front of the said Togruta woman. Ahsoka who was looking at the coarse sand that she could also feel wanted to look up but something begged her not too.

Ariazi stretched out his hand, a finger lightly kissing her lower chin began to bring it up with her eyes matching with his gaze. "Welcome to your new life." He whispered before pushing himself away to reveal a skyscraper that rose high into the air. So high that half of the building faded into the dark brown clouds above. "The Citadel will be your home, your life." Ariazi gently yet forcefully tugged at her throat collar, requesting for her to rise up to her feet.

Looking to the 'Citadel', she could see all the details that it had to offer for those who were mere mortals. Ahsoka who didn't see it due to the sun blazing straight into her retinas could clearly see that such a tower could be seen from miles away.

"You will fight and make me rich. You will fight for me and will you fight for your life." While Ariazi went on, Ahsoka took in the scenery carefully while the files in her mind struggled to locate the information of what planet she was on. None of whom registered of having a Citadel-like structure in the middle of a massive city.

A dusty planet had registered several searches but none of which matched to what Ahsoka was seeing.

"It is lucky that you did not end up as a slave of pleasure. Those are the bottom of the barrel," suddenly the robed man paused in his steps to crane his neck, looking to his rookie fighter. "Unless, you want to be a slave of pleasure?"

Ahsoka dotted her gaze to him with Ariazi knowing that look all too well among the many faces he had seen. With a simple smirk, he tugged at her chained collar again for them to move forward.

"Good."

Ahsoka's feet marched on despite how much she didn't like her neck being tugged every now and then. When she wanted to look over her shoulder to the Nelvaanian male, she was immediately pulled on and she was brought to her knee's. Ariazi wouldn't curse at her but the Frozian would, causing Ahsoka to bite her tongue and prevent a much more violent punishment.

When they entered the realm of the Citadel, all of them were greeted by purple pedals that fell from the sky. Or at least she thought it was the sky. Holographic ceilings presented the audience and slavers alike who walked through the circular ring that surrounded the Citadel. Merchants shouted prices and products while people with money bought it. Apparently, something was going on.

Looking at a pedal, Ahsoka extended her hand out with an open palm. The holographic pedal fell to her hair then quickly disappearing as it went through her hand. A small frown appeared on her face, finding that this world was lifeless. She had not seen any vegetation growing around, it was truly a far cry from Ruuria.

Tal'ku and Ahsoka were then moved through the quarters that offered services of different kinds. Most of which were sexual. The sights and sounds were a sensual overload for Ahsoka, especially the moaning of females and males of different species. Each quarter were private but it wasn't enough to muffle the sounds of the moaning. Soon they were brought through a chamber where there were other's like her in chains.

"Ah my friends, my friends!" An Iridonian man came out from the shadowed halls of the chamber, his hands greeting them with open arms. The thorn on his head were short and stocky while his frame was tall and skinny. Elongated hair flowed from the back of his head while he had several piercing accustomed to his face, particularly one piercing that was horizontally on his chin.

"Duhawk!" Ariazi greeted back, hugging the man while Kahkin looked on with a glowing smile. "It is good to see you here again. It's been too long!" The Iridonian continued praises, hugging back and patting the Frozian on his shoulder. The two discussed something regarding Ahsoka and Tal'ku. Both of whom who were listening closely despite none of the attempts to make it private.

But when the discussion switched that Ahsoka was a fighter, the Iridonian quickly became disappointed and looked to the talked about Togruta woman. "What?" He whispered back to Ariazi, shifting his sights between the man and the Togruta.

"No no! She must not fight!" He argued, causing Ariazi to look double at his old friend. "What do you mean?"

"Look at her!" Duhawk wanted to change his friend's mind, even suggesting with a motion of his hand that waved up and down of Ahsoka's body. "She is far too beautiful to fight against a horde."

Ariazi grew closer to the Iridonian, all smiles and grins of earlier had simply vanished. "I know. But I didn't bring her here to screw customers."

Duhawk blinked, surprise that his friend would say such a thing. "Oh my, Ariazi. You bring lovely women to a fight? Are you mad?"

"It isn't the first time that has happened." Ariazi quipped with the cross of his arms. "Yes but," to Ahsoka's dismay, the Iridonian came over to her, kneeling beside her as he looked up to Ariazi with pleading eyes. "Look at this. Do you know how much people will pay for a body like this."

It was strange, them talking about her like a commodity, not caring what she thought about their words. Ahsoka peered through her peripheral vision to see that the Iridonian babbled on about her body as though she could even touch another man. She was a Jedi, not a slave. A second look at the wrist chains told her otherwise.

"She will not become a whore, Duhawk." Ariazi was a bit more aggressive and strangely enough, Ahsoka was glad he defended her from becoming a sexual slave.

With a shrug of his arms, he couldn't win his friend's opinion. "Fine." He said with a defeated tone. But he wasn't done. The set of dark green eyes came across Ahsoka's vision , he wasn't embarrassed at lusting at her face, even coming close enough to sniff her scent. "Shame." He whispered to her before tilting his head to taste her neck.

The warm wet saliva had graced a pumping vein on her neck, just above the collar. Ahsoka retracted back as she snapped a look to the man as though she was disgusted by his actions. Duhawk snorted by the reaction and rose up to his feet. "Damn shame." He said again, coming across to Ariazi.

"Well then," Duhawk slapped his hands together, agreeing perhaps that Ariazi was prepared to send in his fighters to the arena. "Let there be blood."


End file.
